<  . 


.'^    .1; 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON,     N.    J. 


Dirision L).S  Z  &  C.5^ 

SecUon .-M^  ^ 

Copy  I 


f/ 


THE  EXPOSITOR'S  BIBLE. 


Edited  by  Rev.  W.  R.  Nicoll,  Editor  London  Expositor. 

This  series  consists  of  Expository  Lectures  on  ALL  THE  BOOKS 
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THE 


BOOK    OF    REVELATION 


WILLIAM    MILLIGAN,    D.D., 

Professor  of  Divinity  and  Biblical  Criticism  in  the  Utiiversity  of  Aberdeen  i 
AUTHOR  OF  "the  RESURRECTION  OF  OUR  LORD,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK: 
A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    AND    SON, 

714,  BROADWAY. 


PREFATORY    NOTE. 

T  N  ordinary  circumstances  one  who  undertakes  to 
■^  comment  upon  a  book  of  the  New  Testament 
may  be  justly  expected  to  make  every  effort  to 
explain  each  successive  clause  and  each  difficult 
expression  of  the  book  on  which  he  writes.  My  aim 
in  the  following  Commentary  is  rather  to  catch  the 
general  import  and  object  of  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John  considered  as  a  whole.  The  latter  purpose 
indeed  cannot  be  attained  unless  the  commentator 
has  himself  paid  faithful  attention  to  the  former;  but 
it  is  not  necessary  that  the  results  of  these  inquiries 
should  in  every  case  be  presented  to  the  English 
reader.  To  him  this  book  is  for  the  most  part  a 
perplexity  and  enigma,  and  he  would  only  be  embar- 
rassed by  a  multitude  of  details.  It  seemed  well, 
therefore,  to  treat  the  book  in  its  sections  and 
paragraphs  rather  than  verse  by  verse  ;  and  this  is 
the  course  pursued  in  the  following  pages.  The 
translation  used  is  for  tlie  most  part  that  of  the 
Revised  Version.      An  examination  of  the  words  and 


rREFATORY  N07E. 


clauses  of  the  book,  conducted  upon  a  plan  different 
from  that  here  adopted,  and  much  more  minute  in 
its  character,  will  be  found  in  the  Author's  Com- 
mentary on  the  Apocalypse,  in  the  Commentary  upon 
the  books  of  the  New  Testament  edited  by  Professor 
Schaff  and  published  by  Messrs.  Clark,  Edinburgh. 
The  principles  upon  which  the  Author  has  proceeded 
have  been  fully  discussed  in  his  Baird  Lectures. 


The  University,  Aberdeen, 
May  1889. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    I. 


PAGB 
THE    PROLOGUE      ---  --_»--I 

CHAPTER   II. 
THE   CHURCH   ON   THE   FIELD   OF   HISTORY      -  -  -  -      21 

CHAPTER   III. 
ANTICIPATIONS   OF   THE   CHURCH's   VICTORY  -  -  -      65 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   SEALED   ROLL   OPENED   -------86 

CHAPTER  V. 

CONSOLATORY  VISIONS.  THE  SEALING  AND  THE  PALM- 
BEARING    MULTITUDE       -  -  -  -  -  -  -    III 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   FIRST   SIX  TRUMPETS      -  -  -  -  -  -  -1 32 

CHAPTER   VII. 

RENEWED    CONSOLATORY   VISION.      THE    LITTLE    BOOK      -  -    157 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

A  SECOND  CONSOLATORY  VISION.  THE  MEASURING  OF  THE 
TfMPLE  AND  THE  TWO  WITNISitS.  THE  SEVENTH 
TRUMltr  -------  --    16S 


via  CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER   IX. 

PAGE 
THE   FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY   OF   THE   CHURCH  -  "  -   I96 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE    SECOND    AND    THIRD    GREAT    ENEMIES    OF  THE   CHURCH   217 

CHAPTER  XL 

RENEWED  CONSOLATORY  VISIONS.       THE  LAMB  ON  THE  MOUNT 

ZION    AND    THE   HARVEST   AND   VINTAGE   OF  THE  WORLD   238 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  SEVEN   BOWLS         --------  259 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   BEAST  AND   BABYLON      -------  277 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
THE  FALL  OF   BABYLON  -------  303 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   PAUSE   OF  VICTORY   AND  JUDGMENT  OF   THE   BEAST  AND 

THE   FALSE  PROPHET      1-  -  -  -  -  -  -316 

CHAPTER   XVI. 
JUDGMENT   OF   SATAN   AND   OF  THE  WICKED-        '  -  -  -  335 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
THE   NEW  JERUSALEM   --------  360 

CIIAPIER  XVIII. 
THE   EPILOGUE  ___-----  375 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PROLOGUE, 

Rev.  i. 

The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  Him  to  show 
unto  His  servants,  even  the  things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass  : 
and  He  sent  and  signified  it  through  His  angel  unto  His  servant 
John  ;  who  bare  witness  of  the  word  of  God,  and  of  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  Christ,  even  of  all  things  that  he  saw.  Blessed  is  he  that 
readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  the  prophecy,  and  keep  the 
things  which  are  written  therein  :  for  the  season  is  at  hand  (i.  I-3). 

THE  first  chapter  of  Revelation  introduces  us  to 
the  whole  book,  and  supplies  in  great  measure 
the  key  by  which  we  are  to  interpret  it.  The  book  is 
not  intended  to  be  a  mystery  in  the  sense  in  which  we 
commonly  understand  that  word.  It  deals  indeed  with 
the  future,  the  details  of  which  must  always  be  dark  to 
us  ;  and  it  does  this  by  means  of  figures  and  symbols 
and  modes  of  speech  far  removed  from  the  ordinary 
simplicity  of  language  w'hich  marks  the  New  Testament 
writers.  But  it  is  not  on  that  account  designed  to  be 
unintelligible.  The  figures  and  symbols  employed  in 
it  are  used  with  perfect  regularity ;  its  peculiar  modes 
of  speech  are  supposed  to  be  at  least  not  unfamiliar  to 
the  reader ;  and  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  he  under- 
stands them.  The  writer  obviously  expects  that  his 
meaning,  so  far  from  being  obscured  by  his  style,  will 
be  thereby  illustrated,  enforced,  and  brought  home  to' 
the  mind,   with    greater    than    ordinary  power.       The 

I 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


word  Revelation  by  which  he  describes  to  us  the  general 
character  of  his  work  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  show  this. 
**  Revelation  "  means  the  uncovering  of  that  which  has 
hitherto  been  covered,  the  drawing  back  of  a  veil  which 
has  hung  over  a  person  or  thing,  the  laying  bare  what 
has  been  hitherto  concealed ;  and  the  book  before  us  is 
a  revelation  instead  of  a  mystery. 

Again,  the  book  is  a  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ ;  not  so 
much  a  revelation  of  what  Jesus  Christ  Himself  is,  as 
one  of  which  He  is  the  Author  and  Source.  He  is  the 
Head  of  His  Church,  reigning  supreme  in  His  heavenly 
abode.  He  is  the  Eternal  Son,  the  Word  without 
whom  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made,  and 
who  executes  all  the  purposes  of  the  Father,  "  the  same 
yesterday,  and  tc-day,  and  forever."  *  He  is  at  the  same 
time  **  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church."^  He  regu- 
lates her  fortunes.  He  controls  in  her  behalf  the  events 
of  history.  He  fills  the  cup  which  He  puts  into  her 
hand  with  prosperity  or  adversity,  with  joy  or  sorrow, 
with  victory  or  defeat.  Who  else  can  impart  a  revela- 
tion so  true,  so  weighty,  and  so  precious  ? 

Yet  again,  the  revelation  to  be  now  given  by  Jesu 
Christ  is  one  which  God  gave  Him^  the  revelation  of"^ 
the  eternal  and  unchangeable  plan  of  One  who  turneth 
the  hearts  of  kings  as  the  rivers  of  water,  who  saith 
and  it  is  done,  who  commandeth  and  it  stands 
fast. 

Finally,  the  revelation  relates  to  things  that  must 
shortly  come  to  pass,  and  thus  has  all  the  interest  of 
the  present,  and  not  merely  of  a  far-distant  future. 

Such  is  the  general  character  of  that  revelation 
which  Jesus  Christ  sent  and  signified  through  His  angel 

'  John  V.  19;  Heb,  xiii.  8.  '^  Eph.  i.  22. 


i.  1-3-]  THE  PROLOGUE. 


unto  His  servant  John.  And  that  Apostle  faithfully 
recorded  it  for  the  instruction  and  comfort  of  the 
Church.  Like  his  Divine  Master,  with  whom  through- 
out all  this  book  believers  are  so  closely  identified, 
and  who  is  Himself  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  true 
witness,^  the  disciple  whom  He  loved  stands  forth  to 
bear  witness  of  the  word  of  God  thus  given  him,  of  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  thus  signified  to  him,  eveit  of  all 
things  that  he  saw.  He  places  himself  in  thought  at 
the  end  of  the  visions  he  had  witnessed,  and  re-traces 
for  others  the  elevating  pictures  which  had  filled,  as  he 
beheld  them,  his  own  soul  with  rapture. 

Therefore  may  he  now,  ere  yet  he  enters  upon  his 
task,  pronounce  a  blessing  upon  those  who  shall  pay 
due  heed  to  what  he  is  to  say.  Does  he  think  of  the 
person  by  whom  the  apostolic  writings  were  read  aloud 
in  the  midst  of  the  Christian  congregation  ?  then, 
Blessed  is  he  that  readeth.  Does  he  think  of  those  who 
listen  ?  then.  Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  words  of  the 
prophecy.  Or,  lastly,  does  he  think  not  merely  of 
reading  and  hearing,  but  of  that  laying  up  in  the  heart 
to  which  these  were  only  preparatory  ?  then.  Blessed  are 
they  that  keep  the  things  which  are  written  therein,  for  the 
season,  the  short  season  in  which  everything  shall  be 
accomplished,  is  at  hand. 

The  Introduction  to  the  book  is  over;  and  it  may 
be  well  to  mark  for  a  moment  that  tendency  to  divide 
his  matter  into  three  parts  which  peculiarly  distinguishes 
St.  John,  and  to  which,  as  supplying  an  important 
rule  of  interpretation,  we  shall  often  have  occasion  to 
refer.  There  are  obviously  three  parts  in  the  Introduc- 
tion,— the  Source,  the  Contents,  and  the  Importance  of 


^  Chap.  lii.  14. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


the  revelation  :  and  each  of  these  is  again  divided  into 
three.  Three  persons  are  mentioned  when  the  Source 
is  spoken  of, — God,  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  servants  of 
Jesus ;  three  when  the  Contents  are  referred  to, — the 
Word  of  God,  the  Testimony  of  Jesus,  and  All  things 
that  he  saw  ;  and  three  when  the  Importance  of  the 
book  is  described, — He  that  readeth.  They  that  hear, 
and  They  that  keep  the  things  written  therein. 

John  to  the  seven  churches  which  are  in  Asia  :  Grace  to  you, 
and  peace,  from  Him  which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to 
come;  and  from  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before  His  throne;  and 
from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  faithful  witness,  the  firstborn  of  the 
dead,  and  the  ruler  of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Unto  Him  that  loveth 
us,  and  loosed  us  from  our  sins  in  His  blood  ;  and  He  made  us  to 
be  a  kingdom,  to  be  priests  unto  His  God  and  Father ;  to  Him  be  the 
glory  and  the  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.  Behold,  He 
cometh  with  the  clouds  ;  and  every  eye  shall  see  Him,  and  they 
which  pierced  Him;  and  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  shall  wail  over 
Him.  Even  so,  Amen.  I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  saith  the 
Lord,  God,  which  is  and  which  was  and  which  is  to  come,  the 
Almighty  (i.  4-8). 

From  the  Introduction  we  pass  to  the  Salutation, 
extending  from  ver.  4  to  ver.  8.  Adopting  a  method 
different  from  that  of  the  fourth  Gospel,  which  is 
also  the  production  of  his  pen,  the  writer  of  Revelation 
names  himself.  The  difference  is  easily  explained. 
The  fourth  Gospel  is  original  not  only  in  its  contents 
but  its  form.  The  Apocalypse  is  moulded  after  the 
fashion  of  the  ancient  prophets,  and  of  the  numerous 
apocalyptic  authors  of  the  time  ;  and  it  was  the  practice 
of  both  these  classes  of  writers  to  place  their  names  at 
the  head  of  what  they  wrote.  The  fourth  Gospel  was 
also  intended  to  set  forth  in  a  purely  objective  manner 
the  glory  of  the  Eternal  Word  made  flesh,  and  that  too 
in  such  a  way  that  the  glory  exhibited  in  Him  should 


4-8.]  THE  PROLOGUE. 


authenticate  itself,  independently  of  human  testimony. 
The  Apocalypse  needed  a  voucher  from  one  known  and 
trusted.  It  came  through  the  mind  of  a  man,  and 
we  naturally  ask,  Who  is  the  man  through  whom  it 
came  ?  The  enquiry  is  satisfied,  and  we  are  told  that 
it  comes  ivom.  John.  In  telling  us  this  St.  John  speaks 
with  the  authority  which  belongs  to  him.  By-and-by 
we  shall  see  him  in  another  light,  occupying  a  position 
similar  to  ours,  and  standing  on  the  same  level  with 
us  in  the  covenant  of  grace.  But  at  this  moment  he 
is  the  Apostle,  the  Evangelist,  the  Minister  of  God,  a 
consecrated  priest  in  the  Christian  community  who  is 
about  to  pronounce  a  priestly  blessing  on  the  Church. 
Let  the  Church  bow  her  head  and  reverently  re- 
ceive it. 

The  Salutation  is  addressed  to  the  seven  churches 
which  are  in  Asia.  On  this  point  it  is  enough  to  say 
that  by  the  Asia  spoken  of  we  are  to  understand 
neither  the  continent  of  that  name,  nor  its  great 
western  division  Asia  Minor,  but  only  a  single  district 
of  the  latter,  of  which  Ephesus,  where  St.  John  spent 
the  later  years  of  his  life  and  ministry,  was  the  capital. 
There  the  aged  Apostle  tended  all  those  portions  of 
the  flock  of  Christ  that  he  could  reach,  and  all  the 
churches  of  the  neighbourhood  were  his  peculiar  care. 
We  know  that  these  were  in  number  more  than 
seven.  We  know  that  to  no  church  could  the  Apostle 
be  indifferent.  The  conclusion  is  irresistible,  that  here, 
as  so  often  in  this  book  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of 
Scripture,  the  number  seven  is  not  to  be  literally  under- 
stood. Seven  churches  are  selected,  the  condition  of 
which  appeared  most  suitable  to  the  purpose  which  the 
Apostle  has  in  view;  and  these  seven  represent  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  every  country  of  the  world,  down 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


to  the  very  end  of  time.  The  universal  Church  spreads 
itself  out  beneath  his  gaze  ;  and  before  he  instructs  he 
blesses  it. 

The  blessing  is,  Grace  to  you,  and  peace ;  grace  first, 
the  Divine  grace,  in  its  enlightening,  quickening,  and 
beautifying  power  ;  and  then  peace,  peace  with  God 
and  man,  peace  that  in  the  deep  recesses  of  the  heart 
remains  undisturbed  by  outward  trouble,  the  peace  of 
which  it  is  said  by  Him  who  is  the  Prince  of  peace, 
"  Peace  I  leave  with  you  ;  My  peace  I  give  unto  you  : 
not  as  the  world  giveth  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  fearful."^ 

The  source  of  the  blessing  is  next  indicated, — the 
Triune  God,  the  three  Persons  of  the  glorious  Trinity, 
the  Father,  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  Son.  Probably  we 
should  have  thought  of  a  different  order ;  but  the  truth  is 
that  it  is  the  Son,  as  the  manifestation  of  the  Godhead, 
who  is  mainly  in  the  Apostle's  mind.  Hence  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  first  designation.  Him  which  is,  and  which 
was,  and  which  is  to  come,  a  designation  specially  appli- 
cable to  our  Lord.  Hence  also  the  pecuHarity  of  the 
second  designation,  The  seven  Spirits  which  are  before  His 
throne;  not  so  much  the  Spirit  viewed  in  His  individual 
personality,  in  the  eternal  relations  of  the  Divine 
existence,  as  that  Spirit  in  the  manifoldness  of  His 
operation  in  the  Church,  the  Spirit  of  the  glorified 
Redeemer, — not  one  therefore,  but  seven.  Hence,  again, 
the  peculiar  designation  of  Christ,  Jesus  Christ,  ii}ho  is 
the  faithful  witness,  the  firstborn  of  the  dead,  and  the  ruler 
of  the  kings  of  the  earth;  not  so  much  the  Son  in  His 
metaphysical  relation  to  the  Godhead,  as  in  attributes 
connected    with    His    redemptive   work.     And    hence, 


John  xiv.  27. 


i.4-8.]  THE  PROLOGUE. 


finally,  the  fact  that  when  these  three  Persons  have 
been  named,  the  Seer  fills  up  the  remaining  verses  of 
his  Salutation  with  thoughts,  not  of  the  Trinity,  but  of 
Him  who  has  already  redeemed  us,  and  who  will  in 
due  time  come  to  perfect  our  salvation. 

Now,  therefore,  the  Church,  reflecting  upon  all  that 
has  been  done,  is  done,  and  shall  be  done  for  her,  is 
able  to  raise  the  song  of  triumphant  thanksgiving, 
Unto  Him  that  loveth  us,  and  loosed  us  from  our  sins  tn 
His  bloody  and  He  made  us  to  be  a  kingdom,  to  be  priests 
unto  His  God  and  Father;  to  Him  be  the  glory  and  the 
dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.  In  these  words 
the  possession  of  complete  redemption  is  implied. 
The  true  reading  of  the  original  is  not  that  of  our 
Authorised  Version,  "  Unto  Him  that  washed,"  but 
"  Unto  Him  that  loosed  "  us  from  our  sins.  We  have 
received  not  merely  the  pardon  of  sin,  but  deliverance 
from  its  power.  "  Our  soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of 
the  share  of  the  fowler ;  the  snare  is  broken,  and  we 
are  escaped."^  The  chains  in  which  Satan  held  us 
captive  have  been  snapped  asunder  and  we  are  free. 
Again,  this  loosing  has  taken  place  ^^  in "  rather  than 
*^  by  "  the  blood  of  Christ,  for  the  blood  of  Christ  is 
living  blood,  and  in  that  life  of  His  we  are  enfolded  and 
enwrapped,  so  that  it  is  not  we  that  live,  but  Christ 
that  liveth  in  us.  Once  more  they  who  are  thus  spoken 
of  are  "  a  kingdom,  priests  unto  His  God  and  Father," 
the  former  being  the  lower  stage,  the  latter  the  higher. 
The  word  "  kingdom  "  has  reference,  less  to  the  splendour 
of  royalty  than  to  victory  over  foes.  Christians  reign 
in  conquering  their  spiritual  enemies ;  and  then,  in 
possession  of  the  victory  that  overcometh   the  world, 


Psalm  cxxiv.  7. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION: 


they  enter  into  the  innermost  sanctuary  of  the  Most 
High  and  dwell  in  the  secret  of  His  Tabernacle.  There 
their  great  High  Priest  is  one  with  "  His  God  and 
Father,"  and  there  they  also  dwell  with  His  Father 
and  their  Father,  with  His  God  and  their  God. 

The  statement  of  these  verses,  however,  reveals  not 
only  what  the  Christian  Church  is  to  which  the  Apo- 
calypse is  addressed ;  it  reveals  also  what  the  Lord 
is  from  whom  the  revelation  comes.  He  is  indeed  the 
Saviour  who  died  for  us,  the  witness  faithful  unto  death  : 
but  He  is  also  the  Saviour  who  rose  again,  who  is  the 
firstborn  of  the  dead,  and  who  has  ascended  to  the 
right  hand  of  God,  where  He  lives  and  reigns  in  glory 
everlasting.  It  is  the  glorified  Redeemer  from  whom  the 
book  of  His  revelation  comes ;  and  He  has  all  power 
committed  to  Him  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  More 
particularly,  He  is  ''  the  ruler  of  the  kings  of  the  earth." 
This  is  not  a  description  of  such  honour  as  might  be 
given  by  a  crowd  of  loyal  nobles  to  a  beloved  prince. 
It  rathef  gives  expression  to  a  power  by  which  "  the 
kings  of  the  earth,"  the  potentates  of  a  sinful  world, 
are  subdued  and  crushed. 

Lastly,  the  Salutation  includes  the  thought  that  He 
who  is  now  hidden  in  heaven  from  our  view,  will  yet 
appear  in  the  glory  that  belongs  to  Him.  He  is  the 
Lord  who  "  is  to  come  "  ;  or,  as  it  is  expanded  in  the 
words  immediately  following  the  doxology.  Behold,  He 
Cometh  with  the  clouds  ;  and  every  eye  shall  see  Him,  and 
they  which  pierced  Him  ;  and  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
shall  wail  over  Him.  Even  so,  Amen.  It  is  of  import- 
ance to  ask  what  the  glory  is  in  which  the  glorified 
Lord  is  thus,  spoken  of  as  coming.  Is  it  that  of  one 
who  shall  be  the  object  of  admiration  to  every  eye,  and 
who,  by  the  revelation  of  Himself,  shall  win  all  who 


i.4-8.  THE  PROLOGUE.  9 

behold  Him  to  godly  penitence  and  faith  ?  The  con- 
text forbids  such  an  interpretation.  The  tribes  "  of  the 
earth  "  are  hke  its  kings  in  ver.  5,  the  tribes  of  an  un- 
godly world,  and  the  "  wailing  "  is  that  of  chap,  xviii.  9, 
where  the  same  word  is  used,  and  where  the  kings  of 
the  earth  weep  and  wail  over  the  fall  of  guilty  Babylon, 
which  they  behold  burning  before  their  eyes.  The  tones 
of  that  judgment  which  is  to  re-echo  throughout  the 
book  are  already  heard  :  '^  Give  the  king  Thy  judg- 
ments, O  God,  and  Thy  righteousness  unto  the  king's 
Son.  He  shall  judge  the  people  with  righteousness, 
and  Thy  poor  with  judgment "  ;  ''  Verily  there  is  a 
reward  for  the  righteous:  verily.  He  is  a  God  that 
judgeth  in  the  earth."  ^ 

And  now  the  glorified  Redeemer  Himself  declares 
what  He  is :  /  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  saith  the 
Lord,  God,  which  is  and  which  was  and  which  is  to  come, 
the  Almighty.  It  will  be  observed  that  after  the  word 
*'  Lord  "  we  have  interposed  a  comma  not  found  in  either 
the  Authorised  or  the  Revised  Version.^  On  various 
other  occasions  we  shall  have  to  do  the  same,  and  the  call 
to  do  so  arises  partly  from  the  connexion  of  the  thought, 
partly  from  St.  John's  love  of  that  tripartite  division  of 
an  idea  which  has  been  already  spoken  of.  The  former 
does  not  lead  us  to  the  Father ;  it  leads  us,  on  the  con- 
trary, to  the  Son.  He  it  is  Who  has  been  described 
immediately  before,  and  with  Him  the  description 
which  follows  is  to  be  occupied.  No  doubt  the  thought 
of  God,  of  the  Father,  lies  immediately  behind  the 
words.  No  doubt  also  ''the  Son  can  do  nothing  of 
Himself,  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing "  ;  yet 
*'  what   things    soever  He   doeth,  these    the  Son  also 

•  Psalm  Ixxii.  I,  2;  Iviii.  II. 

■  Compare  the  Greek  text  of  Westcott  and  Hort. 


lO  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

doeth  in  like  manner."^  By  the  Son  the  Father  acts. 
In  the  Son  the  Father  speaks.  The  Son  is  the  mani- 
festation of  the  Father.  The  same  Divine  attributes, 
therefore,  which  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Father,  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  Son.  Let  us  hear  Him  as  He  seals  His 
intimations  of  coming  judgment  with  the  assurance 
that  He  is  God,  who  has  come  who  is  and  who  is  to  ' 
come,  the  Almighty. 

I  John,'  your  brother  and  partaker  with  you  in  the  tribulation 
and  kingdom  and  patience  which  are  in  Jesus,  was  in  the  isle  that 
is  called  Patmo?,  for  the  word  of  God  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 
I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  da\',  and  I  heard  behind  me  a 
great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,  saying.  What  thou  seest,  write  in 
a  book,  and  send  it  to  the  seven  churches;  unto  Ephesus,  and  unto 
Sm3'rna,  and  unto  Pergamum,  and  unto  Thyatira,  and  unto  Sardis, 
and  unto  Philadelphia,  and  unto  Laodicea.  And  I  turned  to  see 
the  voice  which  spake  with  me.  And  having  turned,  I  saw  seven 
golden  candlesticks ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks  one  like 
unto  a  Son  of  man,  clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot,  and 
girt  about  at  the  breasts  with  a  golden  girdle.  And  His  head  and 
His  hair  were  white  as  whjte  wool,  white  as  snow  ;  and  His  eyes  were 
as  a  flame  of  fire ;  and  His  feet  like  unto  burnished  brass,  as  if 
it  had  been  refined  in  a  furnace;  and  His  voice  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters.  And  He  had  in  His  right  hand  seven  stars :  and  out  of 
His  mouth  proceeded  a  sharp  two-edged  sword  :  and  His  countenance 
was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength.  And  when  I  saw  Him,  I 
fell  at  His  feet  as  one  dead.  And  He  laid  His  right  hand  upon  me,  \ 
saying,  Fear  not  ;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last,  and  the  living  One ; 
And  I  became  dead,  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  and  I  have 
the  keys  of  death  and  of  Hades.  Write  therefore  the  things  which 
thou  sawest,  and  the  things  which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall 
come  to  pass  hereafter  ;  the  mystery  of  the  stars  which  thou  sawest 
upon  My  right  hand,  and  the  seven  golden  candlesticks.  The  seven 
stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven  churches;  and  the  seven  candle- 
sticks are  seven  churches  (i,  9-20). 

After  the  Introduction  and  Salutation,  the  visions  of 
the    book    begin,  the   first    being    the   key  to  all  that 

^  John  V.  19. 


i.9-20.]  THE  PROLOGUE.  Ii 

follow.  The  circumstances  amidst  which  it  was  given 
are  described,  not  merely  to  satisfy  curiosity,  or  to 
afford  information,  but  to  establish  such  a  connexion 
between  St.  John  and  his  readers  as  shall  authenticate 
and  vivify  its  lessons. 

I  John  ^  he  begins,  your  brother  and  partaker  -with  you 
in  the  tribulation  and  kingdom  and  patience  which  are 
in  Jesus f  was  in  the  isle  that  is  called  Patmos,  for  the 
word  of  God  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  It  is  no  longer 
only  the  Apostle,  the  authoritative  messenger  of  God, 
who  speaks  ;  it  is  one  who  occupies  the  same  ground 
as  other  members  of  the  Church,  and  is  bound  to 
them  by  the  strong  deep  tie  of  common  sorrow.  The 
aged  and  honoured  Evangelist,  "  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,"  is  one  with  them,  bears  the  same  burden, 
drinks  the  same  cup,  and  has  no  higher  consolation 
than  they  may  have.  He  is  their  ''  brother,"  a  brother 
in  adversity,  for  he  is  a  partaker  with  them  of  the 
**  tribulation "  that  is  in  Jesus.  The  reference  is  to 
outward  suffering  and  persecution  ;  for  the  words  of 
the  Master  were  now  literally  fulfilled  :  "  A  servant  is 
not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  they  persecuted  Me  they 
will  also  persecute  you  ; "  '^  Yea,  the  hour  cometh,  that 
whosoever  killeth  you  shall  think  that  he  offereth  service 
unto  God."^  The  scorn,  the  hatred,  the  persecution 
of  the  world  !  for  such  as  were  exposed  to  these  things 
was  the  Apocalypse  written,  by  such  was  it  understood ; 
and  if,  in  later  times,  it  has  often  failed  to  make  its 
due  impression  on  the  minds  of  men,  it  is  because  it 
is  not  intended  for  those  who  are  at  ease  in  Zion. 
The  more  Christians  are  compelled  to  feel  that  the 
world  hates  them,  and  that  they  cannot  be  its  friends. 


•  John  XV.  20 ;  xvi.  2. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


the  greater  to  them  will  be  the  power  and  beauty  of 
this  book.  Its  revelations,  like  the  stars  of  the  sky, 
shine  most  brightly  in  the  cold,  dark  night. 

'^Tribulation"  is  the  chief  thing  spoken  of,  but  the 
Apostle,  with  his  love  of  groups  of  three,  accompanies 
it  with  other  two  marks  of  the  Christian's  condition  in 
the  world, — the  ''  kingdom  "  and  '*  patience  "  that  are  in 
Jesus.  St.  John  therefore  was  in  tribulation.  He  had 
been  driven  from  Ephesus,  we  know  not  why,  and  had 
been  banished  to  Patmos,  a  small  rocky  island  of  the 
iEgean  Sea.  He  had  been  banished  for  his  faith,  for 
his  adherence  to  "  the  word  of  God  and  the  testimony 
of  Jesus,"  the  former  expression  leading  our  thoughts 
to  the  revelation  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  latter  to 
that  of  the  New;  the  former  to  those  prophets, 
culminating  in  the  Baptist,  of  whom  the  same  Apostle 
who  now  writes  tells  us  in  the  beginning  of  his  Gospel, 
that  they  "came  for  witness,  that  they  might  bear 
witriess  of  the  light ; "  ^  the  latter  to  "  the  true  light, 
even  the  light  which  lighteth  every  man  coming  into 
the  world."  ^  Driven  from  the  society  of  his  friends  and 
"children,"  we  cannot  doubt  that  St.  John  would  be 
drawn  even  more  closely  than  was  his  wont  to  the  bosom 
of  his  Lord ;  would  feel  that  he  was  still  protected  by 
His  care;  would  remember  the  words  uttered  by  Him 
in  the  most  sublime  and  touching  moment  of  His  life, 
"  And  I  am  no  more  in  the  world,  and  these  are  in  the 
world,  and  I  come  to  Thee.  Holy  Father,  keep  them 
in  Thy  name  which  Thou  hast  given  Me"  ;^  and  would 
share  the  blessed  experience  of  knowing  that,  on  every 
spot  of  earth  however  remote,  and  amidst  all  trials 
however  heavy,  he  was  in  the  hands  of  One  who  stills 

*  John  J.  7,  *  John  i.  9.  '  John  xvii.  I!. 


L9-20.]  THE  PROLOGUE.  13 

the  tumults  of  the  people  as  well  as  the  waves  of  the 
sea  beating  upon  the  rock-bound  coast  of  Patmos. 

Animated  by  feelings  such  as  these,  the  Apostle  knew 
that,  whatever  appearances  to  the  contrary  might  pre- 
sent themselves,  the  time  now  passing  over  his  head 
was  the  time  of  the  Lord's  rule,  and  not  of  man's. 
No  thought  could  be  more  inspiring,  and  it  was  the 
preparation  in  his  soul  for  the  scene  which  followed. 

/  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  I  heard 
behind  me  a  great  voices  as  of  a  trumpet^  saying,  What 
thou  seesty  write  in  a  book,  and  send  it  to  the  seven 
churches;  unto  Ephesus,  and  unto  Smyrna,  and  unto 
Pergamum,  and  unto  Thyatira,  and  unto  Sardis,  and  unto 
Philadelphia,  and  unto  Laodicea.  .  The  Lord's  day  here 
referred  to  may  have  been  the  Sunday,  the  first  day 
of  the  Christian  week,  the  day  commemorative  of  that 
morning  when  He  who  had  been  "  crucified  through 
weakness,  yet  lived  through  the  power  of  God."*  If 
so,  there  was  a  peculiar  fitness  in  that  vision,  now 
to  be  granted,  of  the  risen  and  glorified  Redeemer. 
But  it  seems  doubtful  if  this  is  the  true  interpretation. 
Proof  is  wanting  that  the  first  day  of  the  week  had 
yet  received  the  name  of  *'  The  Lord's  Day,"  and  it  is 
more  in  accordance  with  the  prophetic  tone  of  the  book 
before  us,  to  think  that  by  St.  John  the  whole  of  that 
brief  season  which  was  to  pass  before  the  Church 
should  follow  her  Lord  to  glory  was  regarded  as  "  The 
Lord's  Day."  Whichever  interpretation  we  adopt,  the 
fact  remains  that,  meditating  in  his  lonely  isle  upon 
the  glory  of  his  Lord  in  heaven  and  the  contrasted 
fortunes  of  His  Church  on  earth,  St.  John  passed  into 
a  state  of  spiritual  ecstasy.     Like  St.    Paul,   he  was 

*  2  Cor.  xiii.  4. 


14  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

caught  up  into  the  third  heavens;  but,  unlike  him,  he 
was  permitted,  and  even  commanded,  to  record  what 
he  heard  and  saw.^ 

And  I  heard  behind  me,  he  says,  a  great  voice  as  of  a 
trumpet,  saying,  IVIiat  thou  seest,  write  in  a  book,  and 
send  it  to  the  seven  churches;  unto  Ephesus,  and  unto 
Smyrna,  and  unto  Pergamum,  and  unto  TJiyatira,  and 
unto  Sardis,  and  unto  Philadelphia,  and  unto  Laodicea. 
We  need  not  dwell  now  upon  these  churches.  We 
shall  meet  them  again.  They  are  "  the  seven  churches 
which  are  in  Asia "  already  spoken  of  in  ver,  4 ;  and 
they  are  to  be  viewed  as  representative  of  the  whole 
Christian  Church  in  all  countries  of  the  world,  and 
throughout  all  time.  In  their  condition  they  represented 
to  St.  John  what  that  Church  is,  in  her  Divine  origin 
and  human  frailty,  in  her  graces  and  defects,  in  her 
zeal  and-lukewarmness,  in  her  joys  and  sorrows,  in  the 
guardianship  of  her  Lord,  and  in  her  final  victory  after 
m.any  struggles.  Not  to  Christians  in  these  cities 
alone  is  the  Apocalypse  spoken,  but  to  all  Christians  in 
all  their  circumstances  :  "  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear."     The  Apostle  heard. 

And  I  turned  to  see  the  voice  which  spake  with  me. 
And  having  turned  I  saw  seven  golden  candlesticks ;  and 
in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks  one  like  unto  a  Son  of  man. 
It  was  a  splendid  vision  which  was  thus  presented  to 
his  eyes.  The  golden  candlestick,  first  of  the  Tabernacle 
and  then  of  the  Temple,  was  one  of  the  gorgeous  articles 
of  furniture  in  God's  holy  house.  It  was  wrought,  with 
its  seven  branches,  after  the  fashion  of  an  almond  tree, 
the  earliest  tree  of  spring  to  hasten  (whence  also  it 
was  named)  into  blossom  ;  and,  as  we  learn  from  the 

*  Compare  2  Coi.  xii.  4. 


i.9-20.]  THE  PROLOGUE.  15 

elaborateness  and  beauty  of  the  workmanship,  from  the 
symboUcal  numbers  largely  resorted  to  in  its  construc- 
tion, and  from  the  analogy  of  all  the  furniture  of  the 
Tabernacle,  it  represented  Israel  when  that  people, 
having  offered  themselves  at  the  altar,  and  having  been 
cleansed  in  the  laver  of  the  court,  entered  as  a  nation 
of  priests  into  the  special  dwelling-place  of  their 
heavenly  King.  Here,  therefore,  the  seven  golden 
candlesticks,  or  as  in  ver.  4  the  one  in  seven,  represent 
the  Church,  as  she  burns  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High. 

But  we  are  not  invited  to  dwell  upon  the  Church. 
Something  greater  attracts  the  eye, — He  who  is  "  like 
unto  a  Son  of  man."  The  expression  of  the  original  is 
remarkable.  It  occurs  only  once  in  any  of  the  other 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  in  John  v.  27,  although 
there,  both  in  the  Authorised  and  Revised  versions,  it 
is  unhappily  translated  "the  Son  of  man,"  It  is  the 
humanness  of  our  Lord's  Person  more  than  the  Person 
Himself,  or  rather  it  is  the  Person  in  His  humanness, 
to  which  the  words  of  the  original  direct  us.  Amidst 
all  the  glory  that  surrounds  Him  we  are  to  think  of 
Him  as  man  ;  but  what  a  man  1 

Clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about 
at  the  breasts  with  a  golden  girdle.  And  His  head  and 
His  hair  were  white  as  white  wool,  white  as  snozv ;  and 
His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  ftre;  and  His  feet  like  unto 
burnished  brass  as  if  it  had  been  refined  in  a  furnace; 
and  His  voice  as  the  voice  of  many  waters.  And  He  had 
in  His  right  Jiand  seven  stars;  and  out  of  His  mouth 
proceeded  a  sharp  two-edged  sivord :  and  His  countenance 
was  as  tJie  sun  shineth  in  His  strength.  The  particulars 
of  the  description  indicate  the  official  position  of  the 
Person    spoken    of.    and    the    character    in    which    He 


I6  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

appears,  (i)  He  is  a  priest,  clothed  with  the  long 
white  garment  reaching  to  the  feet  that  was  a  distin- 
guishing part  of  the  priestly  dress,  but  at  the  same 
time  so  wearing  the  girdle  at  the  breasts,  not  at  the 
waist,  as  to  show  that  He  was  a  priest  engaged  in  the  • 
active  service  of  the  sanctuary.  (2)  He  is  a  king,  for, 
with  the  exception  of  the  last  mentioned  particular,  all 
the  other  features  of  the  description  given  of  Him  point 
to  kingly  rather  than  to  priestly  power,  while  the  pro- 
phetic language  of  Isaiah,  as  he  looks  forward  to  Eliakim 
the  son  of  Hilkiah,  language  which  we  may  well  suppose 
to  have  been  now  in  the  Seer's  thoughts,  leads  to  the 
same  conclusion  :  '*  And  I  will  clothe  him  with  thy  robe 
and  strengthen  him  with  thy  girdle,  and  I  will  commit 
thy  government  into  his  hand."  ^  The  ^'  Son  of  man," 
in  short,  here  brought  before  us  in  His  heavenly  glory, 
is  both  Priest  and  King. 

Not  only  so.  It  is  even  of  peculiar  importance  to 
observe  that  the  attributes  with  which  the  Priest-King 
is  clothed  are  not  so  much  those  of  tenderness  and 
mercy  as  those  of  power  and  majesty,  inspiring  the 
beholder  with  a  sense  of  awe  and  with  the  fear  of  , 
judgment.  Already  we  have  had  some  traces  of  this 
in  considering  ver.  7 :  now  it  comes  out  in  all  its  force. 
That  hair  of  a  glistering  whiteness  which,  like  snow  on 
which  the  sun  is  shining,  it  almost  pains  the  eye  to 
look  upon  ;  those  eyes  penetrating  like  a  flame  of  fire 
into  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  heart ;  those  feet  which 
like  metal  raised  to  a  white  heat  in  a  furnace  consume 
in  an  instant  whatever  they  tread  upon  in  anger ;  that 
voice  loud  and  continuous,  like  the  sound  of  the  mighty 
sea  as  it  booms  along  the  shore  ;  that  sword  sharp,  two- 


Isa.  xxii.  21  ;  comp.  also  ver.  22  with  Rev.  iii.  7. 


i.9-20.]  'I'lIE  FRuLOGUli:.  17 

edged,  issuing  from  the  mouth,  so  that  no  one  can 
escape  it  when  it  is  drawn  to  slay  ;  and  lastly,  that 
countenance  like  the  sun  in  the  height  of  a  tropical 
sky,  when  man  and  beast  cower  from  the  irresistible 
scorching  of  his  beams, — all  are  symbolical  of  judg- 
ment. Eager  to  save,  the  exalted  High  Priest  is  yet 
also  mighty  to  destroy.  "  Thou  shalt  break  them  with 
a  rod  of  iron  ;  Thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a 
potter's  vessel.  Be  wise  now,  therefore,  O  ye  Kings ; 
be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth.  Serve  the  Lord 
with  fear,  and  rejoice  with  trembling.  Kiss  the  Son, 
lest  He  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  from  the  w^ay,  when 
His  wrath  is  kincfled  but  a  little.  Blessed  are  all  they 
that  put  their  trust  in  Him."^ 

The  Apostle  felt  all  this  ;  and,  believer  as  he  was  in 
Jesus,  convinced  of  his  Master's  love,  and  one  who 
returned  that  love  with  the  warmest  affections  of  his 
heart,  he  was  yet  overwhelmed  with  terror.  And  when 
I  saw  Him,  he  tells  us,  I  fell  at  His  feet  as  one  dead. 
In  circumstances  somewhat  similar  to  the  present,  a 
somewhat  similar  effect  had  been  produced  upon  other 
saints  of  God.  When  Isaiah  beheld  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  he  cried,  *'  Woe  is  me  !  for  I  am  undone  ;  because 
I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  a  people  of  unclean  lips ;  for  mine  eyes  have  seen 
the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts."  ^  When  Ezekiel  beheld 
a  vision  of  the  same  kind,  he  tells  us  that  he  ''  fell  upon 
his  face."  ^  When  the  angel  Gabriel  appeared  to 
Daniel  in  order  to  explain  the  vision  which  had  been 
shown  him,  the  prophet  says,  ''  I  was  afraid,  and  fell 
upon  my  face."  ^  Here  the  effect  was  greater  than  in 
any  of  these  instances,   corresponding  to  the  greater 


Psalm  ii.  9-12.        *  Isa.  vi.  5.        *  Ezek.  i.  28.        '•  Dan.  viii,  17. 

2 


i8  THE  BOOK  OF  /REVELATION, 


glory  shown  ;  and  the  Apostle  fell  at  the  feet  of  the 
glorified  Lord  as  one  "  dead."  But  there  is  mercy 
with  the  Lord  that  He  may  be  feared ;  and  He  laid  His 
right  hand  upon  me,  adds  St.  John,  saying,  Fear  not : 
and  then  follows  in  three  parts  that  full  and  gracious 
declaration  of  what  He  is,  in  His  eternal  pre-existence, 
in  that  work  on  behalf  of  man  which  embraced  not 
only  His  being  lifted  on  high  upon  the  cross,  but  His 
Resurrection  and  Ascension  to  His  Father's  throne, 
and  in  the  consummation  of  His  victory  over  all  the 
enemies  of  our  salvatioq, — I.  /  am  the  First  and  the 
Last,  and  the  Living  One;  2.  And  I  'Ifecame  dead,  and 
behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore  ;  3.  And  I  have  the  keys 
of  death  and  of  Hades. 

A  few  more  words  are  spoken  by  the  glorified 
Person  who  thus  appeared  to  St.  John,  but  at  this 
point  we  may  pause  for  a  moment,  for  the  vision  is 
complete.  It  is  the  first  vision  of  the  book,  and  it 
contains  the  key-note  of  the  whole.  As  distinguished 
from  the  fourth  Gospel,  in  which  Jesus  clothed  as  He 
is  with  His  humanity  is  yet  pre-eminently  the  Son 
of  God,  the  Saviour  while  here  retaining  His  Divinity 
is  yet  pre-eminently  a  Son  of  man.  In  other  words, 
He  is  not  merely  the  Only  Begotten  who  was  from 
eternity  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father :  He  is  also 
Head  over  all  things  to  His  Church.  And  He  is  this 
as  the  glorified  Redeemer  who  has  finished  His  work 
on  earth,  and  now  carries  it  on  in  heaven.  This  work 
too  He  carries  on,  not  only  as  a  High  Priest  "touched 
with  the  feeling  of  cur  infirmities,"  but  as  One  clothed 
with  judgment.  He  is  a  man  of  war,  and  to  Him  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist  may  be  applied  : 

♦♦Gird  Thy  sword  upon  Thy  thigh,  O  Mii^hty  One, 
Thy  glory  and  Thy  majesty. 


i.9-2C.]  THE  FRGLCGUE.  19 

And  in  Thy  majesty  ride  prosperously, 

Because  of  truth  and  meekness  and  righteousness: 

And  Thy  right  hand  shall  teach  Thee  terrible  things. 

Thine  arrows  are  sharp ; 

The  peoples  fall  under  Thee  ; 

They  are  in  the  heart  of  the  King's  enemies.**^ 

Yet  we  cannot  separate  the  body  of  Christ  from  the 
head,  who  is  Son  of  man  as  well  as  Son  of  God.  With 
the  Head  the  members  are  one,  and  they  too  therefore 
are  here  contemplated  as  engaged  in  a  work  of  judg- 
ment. With  their  Lord  they  are  opposed  by  an 
ungodly  world.  In  it  they  also  struggle,  and  war, 
and  overcome.  The  tribulation,  and  the  kingdom  and 
patience  *'  in  Jesus,"  ^  are  their  lot ;  but  living  a  resur- 
rection hfe  and  escaped  from  the  power  of  death  and 
Hades,  salvation  has  been  in  principle  made  theirs,  and 
they  have  only  to  wait  for  the  full  manifestation  of  that 
Lord  with  whom,  when  He  is  manifested,  they  also 
shall  be  manifested  in  glory.^ 

Thus  we  are  taught  what  to  expect  in  the  book  of 
Revelation.  It  will  record  the  conflict  of  Christ  and 
His  people  with  the  evil  that  is  in  the  world,  and  their 
victory  over  it.  It  v/ill  tell  of  struggle  with  sin  and 
Satan,  but  of  sin  vanquished  and  Satan  bruised  beneath 
their  feet.  It  will  be  the  story  of  the  Church  as  she 
journeys  through  the  wilderness  to  the  land  of  promise, 
encountering  many  foes,  but  more  than  conqueror 
through  Him  that  loved  her,  and  often  raising  to 
heaven  her  song  of  praise,  "Sing  unto  the  Lord,  for 
He  hath  triumphed  gloriously,  the  horse  and  his  rider 
He  hath  cast  into  the  sea."  * 

Now  then  we  are  prepared  to  listen  to  the  closing 
words  of  the  glorious  Person  who  had  revealed  Him- 

*  Psalm  xlv.  3-5.  ^  Ver.  9.  ^  Col  iii.4.  *  Exod.  xv.  I, 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


self  to  St.  John,  as  He  repeats  His  injunction  to  him 
to  write,  and  gives  him  some  explanation  of  what  he 
had  seen  :  Write^  therefore,  the  things  which  thou  sawest, 
and  the  things  which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall  come 
to  pass  hereafter;  the  mystery  of  the  seven  stars  which 
thou  sawcst  upon  My  right  hand,  and  the  seven  golden 
candlesticks.  The  seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven 
churches;  and  the  seven  candlesticks  are  seven  churches. 
The  golden  candlesticks  and  the  stars,  the  churches 
and  the  angels  of  the  churches,  will  immediately  meet 
us  when  we  proceed  to  the  next  two  chapters  of  the 
book.  Meanwhile  it  is  enough  to  know  that  we  are 
about  to  enter  upon  the  fortunes  of  that  Church  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  world  which  embraces 
within  it  the  execution  of  the  final  purposes  of  the 
Almighty,  and  the  accomplishment  of  His  plans  for 
the  perfection  and  happiness  of  His  whole  creation. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD   OF  HISTORY, 

Rev.  ii,,  iii. 

To  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Ephesus  write ;  These  things  saith 
He  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  His  right  hand,  He  that  walketh  in 
the  midst  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks  :  I  know  thy  works,  and 
thy  toil  and  patience,  and  that  thou  canst  not  bear  evil  men,  and 
didst  try  them  which  call  themselves  apostles,  and  they  are  not,  and 
didst  find  thein  false ;  and  thou  hast  patience  and  didst  bear  for  My 
name's  sake,  and  hast  not  grown  weary.  But  I  have  this  against 
thee,  that  thou  didst  leave  thy  first  love.  Remember  therefore  from 
whence  thou  art  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  works;  or  else  I 
come  to  thee,  and  will  move  thy  candlestick  out  of  its  place,  except 
thou  repent.  But  this  thou  hast,  that  thou  'hatest  the  works  of  the 
Nicolaitans,  which  I  also  hate.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear 
what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches.  To  him  that  overcometh,  to 
him  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  Paradise  of 
God.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Smyrna  write  ;  These  things 
saith  the  first  and  the  last,  which  became  dead,  and  lived  again  :  I 
know  thy  tribulation,  and  thy  poverty  (but  thou  art  rich),  and  the 
blasphemy  of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  they  are  not,  but 
are  a  synagogue  of  Satan.  Fear  not  the  things  which  thou  art  about 
to  suffer :  behold,  the  devil  is  about  to  cast  some  of  you  into  prison, 
that  ye  may  be  tried ;  and  ye  shall  have  tribulation  ten  days.  Be 
thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  crown  of  life.  He 
that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches. 
He  that  overcometh  shall  not  be  hurt  of  the  second  death.  And  to 
the  angel  of  the  church  in  Pergamum  write ;  These  things  saith  He 
that  hath  the  sharp  two-edged  sword  :  I  know  where  thou  dwellest, 
even  where  Satan's  throne  is ;  and  thou  boldest  fast  My  name,  and 
didst  not  deny  My  faith,  even  in  the  days  of  Antipas  My  witness,  My 
faithful  one,  who  was  killed  aijiong  you,  where  Satan  dwelleth.  But 
I  have  a  few  things  agaiipst  thee,  because  thou  hast  there  some  that 
hold  the  teaching  of  Balaam,  who  taught  Balak  to  cast  a  stumbling- 
block  before  the  children  of  Israel,  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


and  to  commit  fornication.  So  hnst  thou  also  some  that  hold  the 
teaching  of  the  Nicolaitans  in  like  manner.  Repent  therefore ;  or 
else  I  come  to  thee  quickly,  and  I  will  make  war  against  them  with 
the  sword  of  My  mouth.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith  to  the  churches.  To  him  that  overcometh,  to  him  will 
I  give  of  the  hidden  manna,  and  I  will  give  him  a  white  stone,  and 
upon  the  stone  a  new  n^me  written,  whicli  no  one  knowcth  but  he 
that  receiveth  it.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Thyatira  write  ; 
These  things  saith  the  Son  of  God,  who  hath  His  eyes  like  a  flame  of 
fire,  and  his  feet  are  like  unto  burnished  brass  :  I  know  thy  works, 
and  thy  love  and  faith  and  ministry  and  patience,  and  that  thy  last 
works  are  more  than  the  first.  But  I  have  this  against  thee,  that 
thou  sufferest  thy  wife  Jezebel,  which  calleth  herself  a  prophetess ; 
and  she  teacheth  and  seduceth  My  servants  to  commit  fornication, 
and  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols.  And  I  gave  her  time  that  she 
should  repent ;  and  she  willeth  not  to  repeat  of  her  fornication. 
Behold,  I  do  cast  her  into  a  bed,  and  them  that  commit  adultery  with 
her  into  great  tribulation,  except  they  repent  of  her  vs?orks.  And  I 
will  kill  her  children  with  death ;  and  all  the  churches  shall  know 
that  I  am  He  which  searcheth  the  reins  and  hearts  :  and  I  will  give 
unto  each  one  of  you  according  to  your  works.  But  to  you  I  sa}^,  to 
the  rest  that  are  in  Thyatira,  as  many  as  have  not  this  teaching, 
which  know  not  the  deep  things  of  Satan,  as  they  say ;  I  cast  upon 
you  nccie  other  burden.  Howbeit  that  which  ye  have,  hold  fast  till 
I  come.  And  he  that  overcometh,  and  he  that  keepcth  My  works 
unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  authority  over  the  nations :  and  as  a 
shepherd  he  shall  tend  them  with  a  sceptre  of  iron,  as  the  vessels  of 
the  potter  are  they  broken  to  shivers ;  as  I  also  have  received  of  My 
Father :  and  I  will  give  him  the  morning  star.  He  that  hath  an  ear, 
let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches.  And  to  the  angel 
of  the  church  in  Sardis  write ;  These  things  saith  He  that  hath  the 
seven  Spirits  of  God,  and  the  seven  stars :  I  know  thy  works,  that 
thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  thou  art  dead.  Be  thou 
watchful,  and  stablish  the  things  that  remain,  which  were  ready  to 
die  :  for  I  have  found  no  works  of  thine  fulfilled  before  My  God. 
Remember  therefore  how  thou  hast  received  and  didst  hear ;  and 
keep  it,  and  repent.  If  therefore  thou  shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come 
as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not  know  what  hour  I  will  come  upon  thee. 
But  thou  hast  a  few  names  in  Sardis  which  did  not  defile  their 
garments  :  and  they  shall  walk  with  Me  in  white  ;  for  they  are  worthy. 
He  that  overcometh  shall  thus  be  arrayed  in  white  garments;  and  I 
will  in  no  wise  blct  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  I  will  confess 
his  name  before  My  Father,  and  before  His  angels.     He  that  hath  an 


ii.,  iii.]    THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  Fn^TOKY.     23 

ear,  let  him  hear  wh-at  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches.  And  to  the 
angel  of  the  church  in  Philadelphia  write;  These  things  saith  He  that 
is  holy,  He  that  is  true,  He  that  hath  the  key  of  Pavid,  He  that 
openeth,  and  none  shall  shut,  and  that  shutteth,  and  none  openeth  :  I 
know  thy  works  (behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  a  door  opened,  which 
none  can  shut),  that  thou  hast  a  little  power,  and  didst  keep  My 
word,  and  didst  not  deny  My  name.  Behold,  I  give  of  the  synagogue 
of  Satan,  of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  they  are  not,  but  do 
lie ;  behold,  I  will  make  them  to  come  and  worship  before  thy  feet, 
and  to  know  that  I  have  loved  thee.  Because  thou  didst  keep  the 
word  of  My  patience,  I  also  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  trial, 
that  hour  which  is  to  come  upon  the  whole  inhabited  earth,  to  try 
them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth.  I  come  quickly :  hold  fast  that 
which  thou  hast,  that  no  one  take  thy  crown.  He  that  overcometh,  I 
will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  My  God,  and  he  shall  come  no 
more  forth :  and  I  wjjl  write  upon  him  the  name  of  My  God,  and  the 
name  of  the  city  of  My  God,  the  new  Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down 
out  of  heaven  from  My  God,  and  Mine  own  new  name.  He  that  hath 
an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches.  And  to 
the  angel  of  the  church  in  Laodicea  write;  These  things  saith  the 
Am.en,  the  faithful  and  true  Witness,  the  Beginning  of  the  creation  of 
God  :  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot :  I  would 
thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  So  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither 
hot  nor  cold,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  My  mouth.  Because  thou 
sayest,  I  am  rich,  and  have  gotten  riches,  and  have  njeed  of  nothing ; 
and  knowest  not  that  thou  art  the  wretched  one,  and  miserable  and 
poor  and  blind  and  naked  :  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  Me  gold  refined 
by  fire,  that  thou  mayest  become  rich ;  and  white  garments,  that  thou 
mayest  clothe  thyself,  and  that  the  shame  of  thy  nakedness  be  not 
made  manifest,  and  eyesalve  to  anoint  thine  eyes,  that  thou  mayest 
see.  As  many  as  I  love^  I  reprove  and  chasten :  be  zealous  therefora, 
and  repent.  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  khock  :  if  any  man 
hear  My  voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup 
with  him,  and  lie  with  Me.  He  that  overcometh,  I  will  give  to  him. 
to  sit  down  with  Me  in  My  throne,  as  I  also  overcame,  and  sat  down 
with  My  Father  in  His  throne.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear 
what  the  Spiiit  saith  to  the  churches  (ii,,  iii.). 

THE  fortunes  of  the  Church  are  to  be  traced  in  the 
Revelation  of  St.  John  ;  and  the  first  thing 
necessary  therefore  is  that  we  shall  learn  what  the 
Church  is.     To  accomplish  this  is  the  leading  airii  of 


24  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  second  and  third  chapters  of  the  book.  An  object 
precisely  similar  appears  to  determine  the  arrangement 
of  the  fourth  Gospel.  The  Introduction  or  Prologue  of 
that  Gospel  is  found  in  clTap.  i.  i-i8^  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  we  meet  there,  in  brief  and  compen- 
dious form,  the  ideas  afterwards  illustrated  and  enforced 
by  its  selection  of  incidents  from  the  life  of  Jesus. 
After  the  Prologue  follows  a  section,  extending  from 
chap.  i.  19  to  chap.  ii.  11,  in  which  it  is  obvious 
that  that  struggle  of  Jesus  with  the  world,  together  with 
His  victory  over  it,  which  it  is  the  chief  purpose  of  the 
Evangelist  to  relate,  has  not  yet  begun.  The  question 
thus  arises.  What  is  the  aim  of  that  section  ?  and  the 
answer  is,  that  it  is  to  set  forth  the  Redeemer  with 
whom  the  Gospel  is  to  be  occupied  as  He  enters  upon 
the  field  of  history.  Thus  also  here.  The  first  chapter 
of  Revelation  is  the  Introduction  or  Prologue  of  the 
book,  containing  the  ideas  to  be  afterwards  illustrated 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.  The  struggle  of  the 
Church  with  the  world  does  not  yet  begin,  nor  will  it 
begin  until  we  come  to  chap.  vi.  In  the  meantime 
we  are  to  see  in  chaps,  ii.  and  iii.  that  Body  of  Christ 
the  struggle  and  victory  of  which  are  to  engage  our 
thoughts. 

These  chapters  consist  of  seven  epistles  addressed 
to  the  churches  of  the  seven  cities  of  Asia  named  in 
chap.  i.  II,  and  now  written  to  in  the  same  order, 
beginning  with  Ephesus  and  ending  with  Laodicea. 
Each  epistle  contains  much  that  is  peculiar  to  it,  but 
we  shall  fail  to  understand  the  picture  presented  by 
the  two  chapters  as  a  whole  if  we  look  only  at  the 
irjdividual  parts.  General  considerations,  therefore, 
regarding  the  seven  epistles  first  demand  our 
notice. 


iii]    THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY. 


25 


Each  epistle,  it  will  be  observed,  is  addressed  to  the 
"angel"  of  the  church  named.  The  object  of  this 
commentary,  as  explained  in  the  prefatory  note,  renders 
an  examination  of  the  meaning  of  the  word  "angel" 
here  used  a  point  of  subordinate  importance.  A  few 
remarks,  however,  can  hardly  be  avoided.  The  favourite 
interpretations  of  the  term  are  two:  that  the  "angels 
of  the  churches "  are  either  the  guardian  angels  to 
whom  they  were  severally  committed,  or  their  bishops 
or  chief  pastors.  Both  interpretations  may  be  unhesi- 
tatingly rejected.  For  as  to  the  first,  there  is  a  total 
absence  of  proof  that  it  was  either  a  Jewish  or  an  early 
Christian  idea  that  each  Christian  community  had  its 
guardian  angel ;  and  as  to  the  second,  if  there  was,  as 
there  seems  to  have  been,  in  the  synagogues  of  the 
Jews,  an  official  known  as  the  "angel"  or  "messenger," 
he  occupied  an  altogether  inferior  position,  and  pos- 
sessed none  of  the  authoritative  control  here  ascribed 
to  the  several  "angels"  mentioned.  Besides  this,  both 
interpretations  are  set  aside  by  the  single  considera- 
tion that,  keeping  in  view  what  has  been  said  of  the 
number  seven  in  its  relation  to  the  number  one,  the 
seven  angels,  like  the  seven  churches,  must  be  capable 
of  being  regarded  as  a  unity.  But  this  cannot  be  the 
case  with  seven  guardian  angels,  for  such  a  universal 
guardianship  can  be  predicated  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  alone.  Nor  can 
seven  bishops  cr  chief  pastors  be  reasonably  resolved 
into  one  universal  bishop  or  the  moderator  of  one 
universal  presbytery.  The  true  idea  seems  to  be  that 
the  "angels"  of  the  churches  are  a  symbolical  repre- 
sentation in  which  the  active,  as  distinguished  from 
the  passive,  life  of  the  Church  finds  expression.  To 
St.  John  every  person,  every  thing,  has  its  angel.     God 


26  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

proclaims  and  executes  His  will  by  angels.^  He 
addresses  even  the  Son  by  an  angel.^  The  Son  acts 
and  reveals  His  truth  by  an  angel.^  The  waters  have 
an  angel.^  Fire  has  an  angel*  The  winds  have  an 
angel.®  The  abyss  has  an  angel/  On  all  these  occa- 
sions the  "  angel "  is  interposed  when  the  persons  or 
things  spoken  of  are  represented  as  coming  out  of 
themselves  and  as  taking  their  part  in  intercourse 
or  in  action.  In  like  manner  the  "  angels  of  the 
churches "  are  the  churches  themselves,  with  this 
mark  of  distinction  only, — that,  when  they  are  thus 
spoken  of,  they  are  viewed  not  merely  as  in  possession 
of  inward  vigour,  but  as  exercising  it  towards  things 
without. 

The  interpretation  now  given  is  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  the  "angels,"  as  appears  from  the  words  of 
chap.  i.  20,  "The  seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the 
seven  churches,"  are  not  different  from  the  ''stars,"  for 
it  is  the  province  of  the  star,  instead  of  hiding  itself  in 
some  secret  chamber,  to  shine,  and  from  its  place  in 
the  firmament  to  shed  light  upon  the  earth.  The 
uniformity  of  treatment,  too,  which  must  be  claimed 
for  the  number  seven  when  used  both  v/ith  the  churches 
and  the  stars,  is  thus  rendered  possible;  for  if  the 
former  may  represent  the  universal  Church  in  what 
she  iSy  the  latter  will  represent  the  same  Church  in 
what  she  does.  Thus,  then,  in  the  seven  "golden 
candlesticks"  and  in  liie  seven  "stars"  or  "angels" 
we  have  a  double  picture  of  the  Church  ;  and  each  of 
the  two  figures  employed  points  to  a  different  aspect 

*  Chaps.^vii.  2;  viii.  2  ;  xiv.  6,  8,  9 ;  xv.  i,  6. 

^  •  Chap.  xiv.  15.  ^  Chap.  xiv.  18. 

*  Cliops.  i.  I  ;  XX.  I  ;  xxii.  6.  *  Chnp.  vii.  I. 

*  Chap.  xvi.  5.  '  Chap.  ix.  II, 


ii.,  iii.]    THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.      27 

of  her  being.  It  is  possible  also  that  the  double 
designation  may  have  been  chosen  in  conformity  with 
a  rule,  often  observed  in  the  Apocalypse,  which  leads 
the  writer  to  speak  of  the  same  thing,  first  under  an 
emblem  taken  from  Judaism,  and  then  under  one  from 
the  wider  sphere  of  the  great  Gentile  Church.  The 
*^  golden  candlestick  "  burning  in  the  secret  of  God's 
Tabernacle  gives  the  former,  the  "  star "  shining  in 
the  firmament  the  latter. 

Such  then  being  the  case,  the  seven  epistles  being 
addressed  to  th^  seven  churches,  and  not  to  any 
individual  in  each,  the  following  particulars  with  regard 
to  them  ought  to  be  kept  in  view  : — 

I.  They  are  intended  to  set  before  us  a  picture  of 
the  universal  Church.  At  first  sight  indeed  it  may 
seem  as  if  they  were  only  to  be  looked  at  individually 
and  separately.  The  different  churches  are  addressed 
by  nam.e.  In  what  is  said  of  each  there  is  nothing 
out  of  keeping  with  what  we  may  easily  suppose  to 
have  been  its  condition  at  the  time.  There  is  as  much 
reason  to  believe  that  each  epistle  contains  an  actual 
historical  picture  as  there  is  to  beheve  this  in  the 
case  of  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  Rome,  or  Corinth, 
or  Ephesus,  or  Philippi.  Any  other  supposition  would 
convey  a  false  idea  of  the  principles  upon  which  the 
Apocalypse  is  framed,  would  destroy  the  reality  of  the 
Apostle's  writing,  and  would  compel  us  to  think  that 
his  words  must  have  been  unintelligible  to  those  for 
whom,  whatever  their  further  application,  they  were 
primarily  designed.  The  question,  however,  is  not 
thus  exhausted  ;  for  it  is  perfectly  possible  that  both 
certain  churches  and  certain  particulars  in  their  state 
may  have  been  selected  rather  than  otliers,  because 
they  afforded    the    best   typical  representation  of  the 


28  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

universal  Church.     Several  reasons  may  satisfy  us  that 
this  was  actually  done. 

(1)  We  have  good  ground  for  believing  that,  besides 
these  seven  churches  of  Asia,  there  were  other  churches 
in  existence  in  the  same  district  at  the  time  when  the 
Apostle  wrote.  One  of  the  early  fathers  speaks  of 
churches  at  Magnesia  and  Tralles  It  is  also  possible 
that  there  were  churches  at  Colossae^and  Hierapolis, 
although  these  cities  had  suffered  from  an  earthquake 
shortly  after  the  days  of  St.  Paul.  Yet  St.  John 
addressed  himself  not  to  seven,  but  to  *'the  seven 
churches  \Ahich  are  in  Asia,"  as  if  there  were  no  more 
churches  in  the  province.^  More,  however,  there  cer- 
tainly were ;  and  he  cannot  therefore  have  intended  to 
address  them  all.  He  makes  a  selection,  without  saying 
that  he  does  so ;  and  it  is  a  natural  supposition  that  his 
selection  is  designed  to  represent  the  universal  Church. 

(2)  Importance  must  be  attached  to  the  number  seven. 
Every  reader  of  the  book  of  Revelation  is  familiar  with 
the  singular  part  played  by  that  number  in  its  structure, 
and  with  the  fact  that  (unless  chap.  xvii.  9  be  an  excep- 
tion) it  never  means  that  numeral  alone.  It  is  the 
number  of  unity  in  diversity,  of  unity  in  that  manifold- 
ness  of  operation  which  alone  entitles  it  to  the  name  of 
unity.  Such  expressions,  therefore,  as  the  "  seven 
Spirits  of  God  "  or  the  '*  seven  eyes  of  the  Lamb,"  are 
evidently  symbolical.  The  same  idea  must  be  carried 
through  all  the  notices  of  the  number,  unless  there  be 
something  in  the  context  clearly  leading  to  a  different 
conclusion.  Nothing  of  that  kind  exists  here.  Were 
these  two  chapters  indeed  out  of  harmony  with  the 
rest  of  the  book,  or  had  they  little  or  no  relation  to  it, 

»  Chap.  i.  4. 


ii.,  iii.]    THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     29 

it  might  be  urged  that  they  were  simply  historical,  and 
that  no  deeper  meaning  was  to  be  sought  in  them  than 
that  lying  on  the  surface.  We  have  already  seen, 
however,  that  their  connexion  with  the  other  chapters 
is  of  the  closest  kind ;  and  we  cannot  therefore  avoid 
bringing  them  under  the  scope  of  the  same  principles 
of  interpretation  as  are  elsewhere  applicable.  Their 
number — seven — must  thus  be  regarded  as  typical  of 
unity,  and  the  seven  churches  as  representative  of  the 
one  universal  Church. 

(3)  The  nature  of  the  call  to  the  hearers  of  each 
epistle  to  give  heed  to  the  words  addressed  to  them 
leads  to  the  same  conclusion.  Had  each  epistle  been 
designed  only  for  those  to  whom  it  was  immediately 
sent,  that  call  would  probably  have  been  addressed  to 
them  alone.  Instead  of  this  it  is  couched  in  the  most 
general  form  :  He  tJiat  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith  to  the  churches. 

(4)  The  character  in  which  the  Saviour  speaks  to 
each  of  the  seven  churches  is  always  taken  from  the 
vision  of  the  Son  of  man  beheld  by  St.  John  in  the 
first  chapter  of  his  book.  It  is  true  that  in  the  case  of 
one  or  two  of  the  particulars  mentioned  this  is  not  at 
once  apparent ;  but  in  that  of  by  far  the  larger  number 
it  is  so  clear  that  we  are  entitled  to  infer  the  existence 
of  some  secret  link  of  connexion  in  the  mind  of  the 
sacred  writer  even  when  it  may  not  be  distinctly  per- 
ceptible to  us.  The  descriptions,  too,  of  the  epistles 
are  no  doubt  fuller  and  more  elaborate  than  those  of 
the  vision ;  but  this  circumstance  is  easily  accounted 
for  when  we  remember  that  the  seven  different  delinea- 
tions of  our  Lord  contained  in  the  second  and  third 
chapters  are  in  the  first  chapter  combined  in  one. 
Keeping  these  considerations  in  view,  the  main  point  is 


30  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

incontestable  that  the  germ  of  the  epistolar3^  description 
is  to  be  found  in  every  case  in  the  preliminary  vision. 

Thus  to  the  first  church—  that  of  Ephesus — Jesus 
introduces  Himself  as  He  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in 
His  right  hand,  He  that  ivalketh  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 
golden  candlesticks'^ ;  and  the  description  is  evidently 
that  of  chap.  i.  12,  13,  16,  where  the  Seer  beheld  ''  seven 
golden  candlesticks  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  candle- 
sticks one  like  unto  a  Son  of  man ;  and  He  had  in  His 
right  hand  seven  stars."  To  the  second — the  church 
of  Smyrna — Jesus  introduces  Him.self  with  the  words, 
These  things  saith  the  fast  and  the  last,  which  became 
dead,  and  lived  again  ^ ;  and  the  description  is  taken 
from  chap.  i.  17,  18  :  "  I  am  the  first  and  the  last,  and 
the  Living  One ;  and  I  became  dead,  and  behold,  I  am 
alive  for  evermore."  To  the  third — the  church  of 
Pergamum — the  introduction  is.  These  things  saith  He 
that  hath  a  sharp  two-edged  sword^ ;  and  the  original 
of  the  description  is  found  in  chap.  i.  16  :  and  out  of 
His  mouth  proceeded  a  sharp  two-edged  sword.  To  the 
fourth — the  church  of  Thyatira — the  Saviour  begins, 
These  things  saith  the  Son  of  God,  who  hath  His  eyes 
like  a  flame  of  fire,  and  His  feet  are  like  unto  burnished 
brass '^ ;  and  we  see  the  source  whence  the  words  are 
drawn  when  we  read  in  chap.  i.  14,  15,  ''And  His  eyes 
were  as  a  flame  of  fire  ;  and  His  feet  like  unto  burnished 
brass,  as  if  it  had  been  refined  in  a  furnace."  Of  the 
latter  part  of  the  salutation  to  the  fifth  church — that 
of  Sardis — which  runs.  These  things  saith  He  that  hath 
the  seven  Spirits  of  God,  and  the  seven  stars/'  it  is  un- 


•  Chap.  ii.  1.  ^  Cliap.  ii.  12. 

«  Chap.  ii.  8.  *  Chap.  ii.  i8. 

*  Chap.  iii.  I. 


ii.,  iii.]    THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.      31 

necessary  to  speak ;  but  the  first  part  is  more  difficult 
to  trace.  Comparing  chap.  v.  6  and  chap.  iv.  5,  we 
learn  that  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  are  the  possession 
of  the  Redeemer,  and  that  they  are  S37mbolized  by 
seven  lamps  burning  before  the  throne  of  God.  Turn- 
ing now  to  chap,  i.,  we  find  the  Seer  speaking  in  ver.  4 
of  "  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before  the  throne," 
those  very  spirits  which  in  chap.  v.  6  he  tells  us  that 
the  Redeemer  "  hath."  This  latter  thought  therefore  he 
is  accustomed  to  associate  with  them ;  and  though  in 
chap.  i.  4  he  does  not  expressly  say  that  the  seven 
Spirits  there  referred  to  are  the  possession  of  Jesus, 
this  view  of  them  is  obviously  a  part  of  his  general 
conception  of  the  matter.  In  chap.  i.  4,  therefore,  the 
source  of  the  words  addressed  to  Sardis  is  to  be  found. 
To  the  sixth  church — that  of  Philadelphia — it  is  said, 
These  things  saith  He  that  is  holy.  He  that  is  true,  He 
that  hath  the  key  of  David,  He  that  openeth,  and  none 
shall  shut,  and  that  sJintieth,  and  none  openeth  ^ ;  and  we 
can  have  no  difficulty  in  recognising  the  germ  of  the 
extended  description  in  chap.  i.  14,  18,  where  we  are 
told  that  Jesus  Christ,  in  token  of  His  holiness,  hath 
"  His  head  and  His  hair  white  as  white  wool,  white 
as  snow,"  and  that  He  hath  ''the  keys  of  death  and 
of  Hades."  Lastly,  we  have  the  introductory  address 
to  the  seventh  church — that  of  Laodicea — These  things 
saith  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  true  Witness,  the  beginning 
of  the  creation  of  God  ^/  and  the  origin  of  it  is  to  be  seen 
in  chap.  i.  5,  where  Vv^e  are  told  of  *' Jesuis  Christ,  who 
is  the  faithful  Witness,  and  the  first-born  of  the  dead, 
and  the  Ruler  of  the  kings  of  the  earth."  Each  saluta- 
tion of  the  seven  epistles  is  thus  part  of  the  description 

'  Chap.  iii.  7.  ^  Ciiap.  iii.  14. 


Sa  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  the  Son  of  man  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  book  ;  and  it 
is  a  legitimate  inference  that  the  contents  of  the  epistles 
are,  like  the  salutations,  only  portions  of  one  w  hole. 

(5)  Many  expressions  are  to  be  met  with  in  the 
seven  epistles  which  find  their  explanation  only  in 
those  later  chapters  of  the  book  where  a  reference  to 
the  Church  universal  cannot  be  denied.  The  tree  of 
life  of  the  first  epistle  meets  us  again,  more  fully 
spoken  of,  in  the  description  of  the  new  Jerusalem.^ 
The  second  death  mentioned  in  the  second  epistle  is 
not  explained  till  judgment  upon  the  Church's  enemies 
is  complete.^  The  WTiting  upon  behevers  of  the  new 
name,  promised  in  the  third  epistle,  is  almost  unin- 
teUigible  until  we  behold  the  hundred  and  forty-four 
thousand  upon  Mount  Zion.^  The  authority  over  the 
nations,  and  more  especially  the  gift  of  tJie  morning  star, 
referred  to  in  the  fourth  epistle,  cannot  be  compre- 
hended until  we  are  introduced  to  the  vision  of  the 
thousand  years  and  the  last  utterances  of  the  glorified 
Redeemer.''  The  ivJiite  garments  of  the  fifth  epistle 
can  hardly  be  rightly  understood  until  we  see  the  white- 
robed  company  standing  before  the  throne  and  before 
the  Lamb.  The  mention  in  the  sixth  epistle  of  the  city 
of  My  God,  the  new  Jerusalem,  zvJiich  cometh  down  out 
of  heaven  from  My  God,  remains  a  mystery  until  we 
actually  witness  her  descent.^  And,  finally,  the  sitting  in 
Christ^ s  throne  of  the  seventh  epistle  is  only  elucidated 
by  the  reign  of  the  thousand  years  with  Him.' 

*  Chaps,  ii.  7  ;  xxii.  2,  14. 

*  Chaps,  ii.  II  ;  xx.  I4. 
'  Chaps,  ii.  17  ;  xiv.  I. 

*  Chaps,  ii.  26,  28;  xx,  4,  5;  xxii.  16. 
'  Chaps,  iii.  5 ;  vii.  9>  14. 

•Chaps,  iii.  12;  xxi.  2,  10. 

*  Chaps,  iii.  21  ;  xx.  4.     Ccinp.  Trench,  The  Seven  Kpist'e.':,  p,  37 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTOR  V.     33 

(6)  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  descriptions  of  our 
Lord  given  in  the  first  and  last  epistles  have  a  wider 
application  than  to  the  churches  of  Ephesus  and 
Laodicea,  to  Vv^hich  they  are  immediately  addressed, 
thus  making  it  evident  that,  while  each  of  these  epistles 
has  its  own  place  in  the  series,  it  is  at  the  same  time 
treated  as  the  first  or  last  member  of  a  group  which  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  whole. 

To  the  church  of  Ephesus  the  Saviour  describes 
Himself  as  He  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  His  right 
hand,  He  that  wqlkcth  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden 
candlesticks'^ ;  and  the  description  has  no  more  reference 
to  Ephesus  than  to  any  other  of  the  churches  named. 
In  like  manner  to  the  church  of  Laodicea  He  describes 
Himself  as  the  Amen,  the  Witness  faithful  and  true,  the 
Beginning  of  the  creation  of  God?  The  first  of  these 
appellations  is  no  doubt  derived  from  Isa.  Ixv.  16, 
where  we  have  twice  repeated  in  the  same  verse  the 
formula  "  God  Amen  ; "  and  the  meaning  of  the  name 
as  applied  to  Jesus  is,  not  that  all  the  Divine  promises 
shall  be  accomplished  by  Him,  but  that  He  is  Himself 
the  fulfilment  of  every  promise  made  by  the  Almighty 
to  His  people.  The  second  appellation  reminds  us  of 
John  xviii.  37,  where  Jesus  replies  to  Pilate's  question 
in  the  words,  ''  To  this  end  have  I  been  born,  and  to 
this  end  am  I  come  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear 
witness  unto  the  truth."  His  whole  mission  is  summed 
up  by  Him  in  the  idea  of  ''witnessing."  He  is  the 
perfect,  the  true,  the  real  Witness  to  eternal  truth  in 
its  deepest  sense,  in  its  widest  and  most  comprehensive 
range.  The  third  appellation,  again,  cannot  be  limited 
to   the    thought  of  the    mere  material  creation,  as  if 

'  Chap.  ii.  I.  2  ch.p  jji   j^^ 


34  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

.equivalent  to  the  statement  that  by  the  Word  were  all 
things  made.  It  would  thus  fail  to  correspond  with 
the  two  appellations  preceding  it,  which  undoubtedly 
apply  to  the  work  of  redemption,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  addition  of  the  words  "of  God"  would  be 
meaningless  or  perplexing.  Let  us  add  to  this  that  ^ 
in  chap.  i.  5,  immediately  after  Jesus  has  been  called 
the  "  faithful  Witness,"  He  is  described  as  the  "  first- 
begotten  of  the  dead,"  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to 
resist  the  conviction  that  the  words  before  us  refer 
primarily  to  the  new  creation,  the  Christian  Church, 
that  redeemed  humanity  which  has  its  true  life  in 
Christ.  It  may  not  indeed  be  necessary  to  exclude 
the  thought  of  the  material  universe  ;  but,  in  so  far 
as  it  is  alluded  to,  it  is  only  as  redeemed,  in  its 
ideal  condition  of  rest  and  glory,  when  the  new 
Jerusalem  has  come  down  out  of  heaven,  and  when  the 
Church's  enemies  have  been  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.-^ 
The  three  appellations,  it  will  be  observed,  have  thus 
a  general  rather  than  a  special  aspect ;  and  the  saluta- 
tion containing  them  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
salutations  of  the  other  epistles,  all  of  which,  with 
the  exception  of  the  last,  exhibit  the  closest  possible 
connexion  with  the  contents  of  the  epistles  to  which 
they  respectively  belong.  It  is  no  mere  fancy,  therefore, 
when  we  say  that  we  have  in  this  a  proof  that  the  first 
and  last  epistles  are  not  simply  members  of  a  con- 
tinuous series,  the  last  of  which  may  leave  the  first  far 
behind,  but  that  they  are  binding  terms  which  gather 
up  all  the  members  of  the  series  and  group  them  into 
one. 

(7)  It  ought  to  be  noticed  that  all  the  cities  to  which 

*  Comp.  Rom.  viii.  21.  22  ;  James  i.  1^6. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     35 

the  seven  epistles  are  addressed  were  situated  beyond 
the  boundaries  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  that  the  Christian 
Church  in  each  v/as  certainly  composed,  at  least  in  large 
measure,  of  Gentile  converts.  These  churches  cannot 
therefore  represent  the  Jewish  Church  alone,  but  must 
embody  that  wider  idea  of  the  Christian  Church  which 
was  brought  in  when  the  middle  wall  of  partition 
between  Jews  and  Gentiles  was  broken  down,  and 
when  both  were  reconciled  in  one  body  by  the  Cross, 
becoming  one  Church  in  the  Son  and  in  the  Father. 
Were  we  dealing  with  the  Jewish-Christian  Church, 
we  should  unquestionably  find  it  located  in  Jerusalem 
or  in  some  of  the  cities  of  Palestine.  When  we  are 
taken  to  heathen  soil,  and  to  churches  known  to  have 
been  at  least  for  the  most  part  Gentile,  it  is  a  proof 
that  we  have  before  us  that  great  Gentile  Church  in 
the  very  conception  of  which  lies  the  thought  of 
universality. 

(8)  The  view  now  taken  is  confirmed  by  the  general 
nature  of  the  Apocalypse.  That  book  is  symbolical. 
It  begins  with  a  symbolical  representation  in  the  first 
chapter.  Symbolism,  by  the  admission  of  all,  is 
resumed  in  the  fourth  chapter,  and  is  continued  from 
that  point  to  the  end.  Now  it  is  certainly  possible 
that  between  these  two  groups  of  symbols  a  passage 
only  strictly  historical  might  be  introduced.  But  if 
there  be  reason  on  independent  grounds  to  think  that 
here  also  we  have  facts  used  at  least  to  a  certain  extent 
to  serve  a  higher  than  a  simply  historic  thought,  it 
cannot  fail  to  be  allowed  that  the  general  unity  of  the 
book  is  thus  preserved,  and  that  a  completeness  is  lent 
to  it  which  we  are  entitled  to  expect,  but  which  would 
be  otherwise  wanting. 

The  seven  churches  then  of  chaps,  ii.  gnd  iii.  are 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


thus  intended  to  represent  the  one  universal  Church. 
The  Seer  selects  such  particular  churches  of  Asia  and 
such  special  features  of  their  condition  as  afford  the 
best  illustration  of  that  state  of  God's  kingdom  in  the 
world  which  is  to  be  the  great  subject  of  his  prophetic 
words.  He  is  to  keep  in  view  throughout  all  his  reve- 
lation certain  aspects  of  the  Church  in  herself  and  in 
her  relation  to  the  world.  But  these  aspects  were  not 
merely  in  the  bosom  of  the  future.  Still  less  are  they  an 
ideal  picture  drawn  from  .the  resources  of  the  writer's 
own  imagination.  To  his  enlightened  eye,  looking 
abroad  over  that  part  of  the  world  in  which  his  lot  was 
cast,  they  were  also  present,  one  in  one  church,  another 
in  another.  St.  John  therefore  groups  them  together. 
They  are  "  the  things  which  are,"  and  they  are  types  of 
*'  the  things  which  shall  come  to  pass  hereafter."^ 

The  universalism  of  the  Apocalypse  is  from  the  first 
apparent. 

2.  A  second  characteristic  of  the  epistles  addressed 
to  the  seven  churches  demands  our  notice,  for  these 
epistles  are  clearly  divisible  into  two  portions,  the  first 
consisting  of  the  first  three,  the  second  of  the  other 
four.  Every  inquirer  admits  the  fact,  the  proof  resting 
upon  the  difference  of  place  assigned  in  the  two  portions 
to  the  call.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith  to  the  churches.  In  the  first  three  this  call 
comes  in  as  a  central  part  of  the  epistle,  immediately 
before  the  promise  to  him  that  overcojneth^ ;  in  the  last 
four  it  closes  the  epistle.^  There  is  a  still  more  interest- 
ing difference,  though  the  Authorised  English  Version 
conceals  it  from  view.     According  to  the  best  attested 


»  Chap.  i.    19. 

»  Chap.  ii.   7,   II,   17. 

•  Chaps,  ii.  29  ;  iii.  6,   13,  22, 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     37 

readings  of  the  original,  the  second  and  third  epistles — 
those  to  Smyrna  and  Pergamum — omit  the  words,  found 
in  all  the  others,  /  know  thy  works.  The  circumstance 
is  at  least  remarkable,  and  it  seems  to  admit  of  onl}' 
one  explanation.  In  the  mind  of  the  writer  the  first 
three  epistles  were  so  closely  associated  together — more 
closely  perhaps  than  even  the  seven  or  the  last  four — 
that  these  words  occurring  in  the  first  epistle  were 
thought  by  him  to  extend  their  influence  over  the 
second  and  third,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  exalted  Lord  in  the  same  epistle  sent  its 
voice  forward,  and  that  in  the  last  epistle  its  voice  back- 
ward, through  the  rest.  At  all  events,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  see  that  the  first  three  epistles  and  likewise  the 
last  four,  to  whatever  extent  they  form  parts  of  one 
whole,  constitute  in  each  case  a  special  unity.  What, 
we  have  now  to  ask,  is  the  ground  of  the  distinction  ? 
In  what  light  is  the  Church  viewed  in  each  of  the  two 
portions  spoken  of? 

There  are  two  aspects  of  the  Church  which  may  be 
said  to  pervade  the  whole  Apocalypse  :  first,  as  she  is 
in  herself,  in  her  own  true  nature ;  and  secondly,  as 
she  is  engaged  in,  and  affected  by,  a  struggle  with  the 
world.  The  distinction  between  the  two  may  be  traced 
in  the  grouping  of  which  we  speak.  The  first  three 
epistles  lead  us  to  the  thought  of  the  Church  in  the 
former,  the  remaining  four  to  the  thought  of  her  in  the 
latter,  aspect.  In  the  first  three  she  is  the  pure  bride 
of  Christ ;  in  the  last  four  she  has  yielded  to  the 
influences  of  the  world,  and  the  faithful  remmant  within 
her  is  separated  from  her  professing  but  unfaithful 
members. 

The  numbers  into  which  the  two  portions  of  the 
seven  epistles    are    distributed    illustrate    this.     Three 


38  7 HE  BOOK  OP  J^EVELATIOW 

is  the  number  of  the  Divine  ;  four,  as  appears  from 
many  passages  of  this  book,  is  the  number  of  the 
world.  The  simple  fact  that  we  have  a  group  of  three 
as  distinguished  from  one  of  four  epistles  is  sufficient 
to  lead  to  the  impression  that,  in  one  way  or  another, 
the  thought  of  the  Divine  is  more  closely  associated 
with  the  former,  and  the  thought  of  the  world  with  the 
latter. 

This  impression  is  confirmed  when  we  look  at  the 
contents  of  the  epistles.  Let  us  take  the  first  three, 
and  we  shall  find  that  in  not  one  of  them  is  a 
contrast  drawn  between  the  whole  Church  and  any 
faithful  remnant  v/ithin  her  borders,  that  in  not  one 
of  them  is  the  Church  represented  as  yielding  to 
the  influences  of  the  world.  No  doubt  she  has  evil 
in  her  midst ;  and  evil  always  springs  from  the  world, 
not  from  God.  But  she  is  not  yet  conscious  of  tiie 
sin  by  which  she  is  surrounded.  She  has  not  yet 
begun  to  traffic  with  the  world,  to  accommodate  her- 
self to  it,  or  to  lust  after  what  it  bestows.  The 
great  charge  against  the  church  in  Ephesus  is  that 
she  has  left  her  first  love.^  She  has  passed  out 
of  the  bright  and  joyous  feelings  which  marked  the 
time  of  her  espousals  to  the  heavenly  Bridegroom. 
But  from  sin  the  Church  as  she  actually  exists  in  the 
world  can  never  be  wholly  free ;  and,  so  far  in  parti- 
cular as  the  Nicolaitans  are  concerned,  she  shares  in 
Ephesus  the  feelings  of  her  Lord,  and  views  them  with 
the  hatred  which  they  dtserve.  No  reproach  is  directed 
against  the  church  in  Smyrna.  She  is  rather  the 
object  of  her  Lord's  perfect  confidence  ;  and  He  is  only 
preparing    trial    for   her   in    correspondence   with    the 

» Chap.  ii.  4. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     39 

law  by  which  He  trains  His  people  :  *'  Every  branch 
that  beareth  fruit,  He  cleanseth  it,  that  it  may  bear 
more  fruit."  ^  Remarks  of  a  similar  kind  apply  to  the 
church  in  Pergamum.  There  is  no  charge  against 
the  church  there  that  she  is  allowing  the  world 
to  gain  dominion  over  her.  She  has  certainly  persons 
in  her  midst  who  hold  the  teaching  of  the  Nicolaitans, 
but  they  are  few  hi  number ;  they  are  no  more  than 
"some/'2  and  she  lends  them  no  countenance.  On 
the  contrary,  though  dwelling  in  the  place  where  Satan 
has  his  throne,  she  has  remained  true  to  her  Lord, 
and  has  been  purified  in  the  fires  of  persecution  then 
raging  even  unto  death.  In  none  of  the  three  cases 
is  the  church  perfect,  but  in  none  is  she  really 
faithless  to  her  trust.  She  is  in  danger ;  she  needs 
to  be  perfected  by  suffering^;  by  suffering  she  is 
perfected :  but  she  knows  that  he  who  will  be  the 
friend  of  the  world  is  the  enemy  of  God,  and  the 
enemies  of  God  are  her  enemies. 

When  we  turn  to  the  second  group  of  the  seven 
epistles,  we  at  once  breathe  a  different  atmosphere  ;  and 
the  contrast  is  rendered  more  striking  by  the  fact  that 
in  the  first  of  the  four  we  have  the  very  sins  spoken 
of  v\^hich  have  already  twice  crossed  our  path  in  the 
epistles  to  Ephesus  and  to  Pergamum,  According  to 
the  best  critical  reading  of  chap.  ii.  20,  the  charge  against 
Thyatira  is,  ''  Thou  sufferest"  (Thou  lettest  alone;  thou 
toleratest)  "  thy  ivife  Jezebel!^  Jezebel  was  a  heathen 
princess,  the  first  heathen  queen  who  had  been  married 
by  a  ki;ig  of  the  northern  kingdom  of  Israel.  She  was 
therefore  peculiarly  fitted  to  represent  the  influences  of 
tlie   world  ;    and   the  charge  against   Thyatira  is  thus 

*  John  XV.  2.  '  Chap.  ii.  14,  15.  ^  Comp.  Ilcb.  ii.  lO. 


40  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

that,  in  the  persons  not  di  a  few  only,  but  of  her  united 
membership,  she  tolerated  the  world,  with  its  heathen 
thoughts  and  practices.  She  knew  it  to  be  the  world 
that  it  was ;  but  notwithstanding  this  she  was  content 
to  be  at  peace,  or  even  to  ally  herself,  with  it.  The 
church  m  Sardis  is  not  less  blameable.  There  are  a 
few  names  in  her  that  have  not  defiled  their  garments  ; 
but  the  church  as  a  whole  has  deeply  sinned.  She  has 
reproduced  the  Pharisaic  type  with  which  the  Gospels 
have  made  us  acquainted,  substituting  the  outward  for 
the  inward  in  religion,  and  then  yielding  to  the  sins  of 
the  flesh  to  which  she  has  thus  given  the  supremacy. 
The  church  in  Philadelphia,  like  that  in  Sm3'rna,  is 
not  blamed,  and  it  is  well  that  there  should  be  one 
church  even  in  the  midst  of  the  world  of  which  this 
can  be  said ;  yet  even  Philadelphia  has  only  a  little 
powcr^  while  the  exhortation,  Hold  fast  that  which  thou 
hast^"  appears  to  indicate  that  she  has  been  losing 
much.  Lastly,  no  one  can  mistake  the  wiUing  identifi- 
cation of  herself  with  the  world  on  the  part  of  the 
church  in  Laodicea.  She  says  that  she  is  rich,  that 
she  has  gotten  riches,  that  she  has  need  of  nothing^ 
Her  members  are  well-to-do  and  in  easy  circumstances, 
and  they  have  found  so  much  comfort  in  their  worldly 
goods  that  they  Iiave  become  blind  to  the  fact  that  man 
needs  something  better  and  higher  for  his  portion.  In 
all  these  four  churches,  in  short,  v/e  have  an  entirely 
different  relation  between  the  Church  and  the  world 
from  that  set  before  us  in  the  first  three.  There  is  not 
simply  danger  of  decay  within,  and  the  need  of  trial 
with  the  benefit  resulting  from  it.  There  is  actual 
conflict  with  the  world ;  sometimes,  it  may  be,  a  victory 

'  Clirp.  iii.  8.  ^  Cl.rp.  iii.  ll.  "  Cliap.  iii.  17. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.    41 

over  it,  at  other  times  a  yielding  to  its  influences  and 
an  adoption  of  its  spirit.  In  the  first  three  churches 
all,  or  all  with  few  exceptions,  are  on  the  side  of  Christ ; 
in  the  last  four  the  ''remnant"  alone  is  true  to  Him. 

Attention  to  the  promises  to  him  that  oveixometh  in 
the  different  epistles  seems  to  confirm  what  has  been 
said.  There  is  a  marked  contrast  between  the  tone  of 
these  promises  as  they  are  given  in  the  two  groups  of 
epistles  ;  and  even  where  a  certain  amount  of  simi- 
larity exists,  the  promises  in  the  second  group  will  be 
found  to  be  fuller  and  richer  than  in  the  first.  At 
Ephesus,  at  Smyrna,  and  at  Pergamum  "  he  that  over- 
cometh  "  is  rewarded  much,  as  one  still  in  a  simple 
and  childlike  state  would  be.  The  first  promise  made 
to  him  is  that  he  shall  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is 
in  the  Paradise  of  God^ ;  the  second,  that  he  shall  not 
be  hurt  of  the  second  death'^ ;  the  third,  that  he  shall  eat 
of  the  hidden  manna,  and  be  like  the  high-priest  in  the 
innermost  recesses  of  the  sanctuary.^  All  is  quiet. 
The  appeal  of  Him  who  promises  is  to  the  gentler  sus- 
ceptibilities of  the  soul.  The  privileges  and  enjoyments 
spoken  of  are  adapted  to  the  condition  of  those  who 
have  not  yet  experienced  the  struggle  of  life. 

When  we  turn  to  the  second  group  of  epistles  there 
is  a  different  tone.  We  enter  upon  rewards  conceived 
in  bolder  and  more  manly  figures.  The  first  promise 
now  is,  He  that  overcometh,  and  he  that  keepeth  My  works 
unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  authority  over  the  nations : 
and  as  a  shepherd  he  shall  tend  them  with  a  sceptre  of  iron  ; 
as  the  vessels  of  the  potter  are  they  broken  to  shivers}  This 
is  the  reward  of  victory  after  well-fought  fields.     The 


*  Chap.  ii.  7.  8  Cliap.  ii.  17. 

2  Chap.  ii.  II.  <  Clap.  ij.  26,  27. 


42  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

warrior  thus  crowned  must  have  braved  the  strife  and 
won  with  difficulty.  The  second  promise  is  not  less 
marked  in  its  character.  He  that  overcometh  shall  not 
simply,  as  in  the  case  of  Smyrna,  receive  the  reward  of 
not  being  ^'  hurt  of  the  second  death  ; "  he  shall  be 
arrayed  in  ivhite  garniejits^  and  Jesus  will  confess  his 
narne  before  His  Father,  and  before  His  angels.  The 
third  promise  is  at  least  a  large  extension  of  that  given 
to  Pergamum,  for  of  ////;/  that  now  overcometh  it  is  said, 
/  will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  My  God,  and  he 
shall  come  no  more  forth — that  is,  shall  come  no  more 
forth  to  a  struggle  with  the  world  similar  to  that  in 
which  he  has  been  engaged — and  I  will  write  upon  him 
the  name  of  My  God,  and  the  name  of  the  city  of  My  God, 
the  new  Jerusalem,  which  conitth  down  out  of  heaven 
from  My  God,  and  Mine  own  new  name}  Finally,  the 
fourth  promise  is  the  noblest  of  all  :  He  that  overcometh, 
I  will  give  to  him  to.  sit  down  with  Me  in  My  throne,  as 
I  also  overcame,  and  sat  down  with  My  Father  in  His 
throne}  All  the  promises  of  the  second  group  of  epistles 
are  cltarly  distinguished  in  tone  and  spirit  from  those 
of  the  first  group.  They  presuppose  a  fiercer  struggle, 
a  hotter  conflict ;  and  they  are  therefore  full  of  a  more 
glorious  reward. 

Such  seems  to  be  the  relation  to  one  another  of 
the  two  groups  into  which  the  seven  epistles  naturally 
divide  themselves.  In  the  first  group  the  Church 
has  stood  firm  against  the  world.  She  is  full  of  toil 
and  endurance;  in  her  poverty  she  is  rich;  and  the 
troubles  of  the  future  she  does  not  fear.  She  holds 
fast  the  nam.e  of  Christ,  and  openly  confesses  Him. 
Seeds  of  evil   are  indeed   within    her,  which   will  too 


1  Chap.  iii.  5.  ^  Chap.  iii.  12.  "  Chap,  iii 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  TIE  LB  OF  HISTORY.    43 

soon  develop  themselves  ;  but  she  has  the  Divine  life 
within  her  in  as  much  perfection  as  can  be  expected 
amidst  the  infirmities  of  our  present  state.  She  walks 
with  God  and  hears  His  voice  in  her  earthly  paradise. 
In  the  second  group  the  evil  seed  sown  by  the  ene  riy 
has  sprung  up.  The  Church  tolerates  the  sins  that 
are  around  her,  makes  her  league  with  the  world, 
and  yields  to  its  influence.  She  rallies  indeed  at 
times  to  her  new  and  higher  life,  but  she  finally 
submits  to  the  world  and  is  satisfied  with  its  goods. 
There  are  many  faithful  ones,  it  is  true,  in  her  midst. 
As  in  the  Jewish  Church  there  was  a  "  remnant 
according  to  the  election  of  grace,"  so  in  her  there 
are  those  who  listen  to  the  Saviour's  voice  and  follow 
Him.  Yet  they  are  the  smaller  portion  of  her  members, 
and  they  shall  eventually  come  forth  out  of  her. 
It  is  the  same  sad  story  which  has  marked  all  the 
previous  dispensations  of  the  Almighty  with  His 
people,  and  which  will  continue  to  be  repeated  until 
the  Second  Comingof  the  Lord.  That  story  culminates 
in  this  book  of  the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  w^hen  the 
bride,  allying  herself  with  the  world,  becomes  a  harlot, 
and  when  the  Seer  hears  *'  another  voice  out  of  heaven, 
saying.  Come  forth.  My  people,  out  of  her,  that  ye 
have  no  fellowship  with  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive 
not  of  her  plagues."  ^ 

We  have  considered  the  epistles  contained  in  these 
chapters  as  a  unity  representative  of  the  universal 
Church  in  the  two  main  aspects  of  her  condition  in  the 
w^orld  ;  but  before  leaving  them  it  will  be  well  to  look 
at  them  individually,  and  to  mark  the  peculiar  condition 
of  each  Church  addressed. 

*  Chap,  xviii.  4, 


44  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

I.  The  first  epistle  is  that  to  Ephesus,  the  central 
or  metropolitan  city  of  the  district  to  which  all  the 
seven  churches  belonged,  and  with  which  the  almost 
unanimous  voice  of  antiquity  associates  the  later  years 
of  the  pastorate  of  St.  John  himself.  Hence,  in  part 
at  least,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  general  nature 
of  the  salutation  with  which  the  glorified  Lord  presents 
Himself  to  that  church.  He  does  not  merely  hold 
its  star  in  His  right  hand,  nor  does  He  merely  walk 
in  the  midst  of  it  alone.  He  lioldeth  the  seven  sfars  in 
His  right  hand.  He  walketh  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 
golden  candlesticks.  He  is  present  in  every  part  of  His 
Church  on  earth.  To  every  part  of  it  He  says,  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  consummation  of 
the  age."^ 

The  church  at  Ephesus  is  faithful  as  a  whole.  / 
know,  is  the  language  of  her  Lord  to  her,  thy  works, 
and  thy  toil  and  patience,  and  that  thou  canst  not  bear 
evil  men,  and  didst  try  them  which  call  them  selves  apostles, 
and  they  are  not,  and  didst  find  them  false ;  and  thou  hast 
patience  and  didst  bear  for  My  name's  sake,  and  ha.t 
not  grown  weary.  The  tribute  is  a  noble  one.  The 
church  is  not  only  working,  but  toiling,  in  her  Master's 
service ;  she  is  firm  amidst  trial,  whether  from  within 
or  from  without ;  she  views  with  abhorrence  all 
workers  of  iniquity ;  she  tries,  only  in  order  to  reject, 
those  pretended  messengers  of  Christ  who  would  have 
preached  another  gospel  than  that  the  power  of  which 
she  knew.  Amidst  all  the  speciousness  of  their  claims, 
she  had  ''  found  "  them  false.  Then  she  turned  again 
to  her  steadfast  endurance  until  it  became  a  settled 
principle  in  her  life,  and  it  could  be  said  to  her,  with 


R!att.  xxviii.  20. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.    45 

the  strong  force  of  the  word  in  the  writings  of  St. 
John,  that  she  "  had "  it.  The  spirit  of  all  this,  too, 
had  been  found  in  the  "  name "  of  Jesus,  the  revela- 
tion of  the  love  and  grace  of  God  given  her  in  Him. 
Finally,  she  had  not  grown  weary.  Seven  marks  of 
faithfulness  appear  to  be  mentioned  ;  and,  if  so,  the 
fourth — her  judgment  of  false  teachers — occupies  the 
central  position.  Nor  does  it  seem  fanciful  to  say  this 
when  we  notice  that  of  all  the  seven  points  the  fourth 
is  the  only  one  returned  to,  and  that  in  a  more  specific 
form,  at  a  later  point  in  the  epistle  :  But  this  thou  hast, 
that  thou  hatest  the  works  of  the  Nicolaitans,  which  I  also 
hate.  In  other  words,  doctrinal  faithfulness  was  the 
peculiar  distinction  of  the  Ephesian  church.  She  knew 
that  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  must  be  kept  pure, 
or  toil  would  lose  its  spring,  patience  its  encourage- 
ment, shrinking  from  evil  men  its  intensity,  and  perse- 
verance its  support.  Therefore  she  valued  the  doctrinal 
truth  which  had  been  committed  to  her,  and  held  fast 
the  '^  form  of  sound  words  "  which  she  had  received, 
for  the  sake  of  the  life  to  which  it  led. 

Amidst  all  this  the  church  at  Ephesus  was  not  wholly 
what  she  ought  to  have  been.  /  have  this  against  thee^ 
had  to  be  said  to  her,  that  thou  didst  leave  thy  first  love ; 
and  she  needed  words  of  exhortation  and  warning: 
Remember  therefore  from  whence  thou  art  fallen,  and 
repent,  and  do  the  first  works  ;  or  else  I  come  to  thee,  and 
will  move  thy  candlestick  out  of  its  place,  except  thou 
repent.  The  church  had  declined  from  the  bright  and 
joyous  feelings  of  her  first  condition.  Might  her  very 
zeal  for  the  purity  of  Christian  doctrine  have  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  this  ?  It  is  not  impossible.  Eager 
defence  of  truth  against  error,  notwithstanding  its 
importance,  is  apt  to  shift  the  centre  of  the  soul's  inner 


46  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

life.  The  strifes  of  theologians  and  the  cry  "  First 
purity,  then  peace,"  translated  into  "  Purity  without 
peace,"  have  been  in  every  age  the  scandal  and  the  weak- 
ness of  the  Church.  Well  might  even  David  speak  of 
it  as  one  of  the  most  signal  instances  of  God's  goodness 
to  them  that  fear  Him,  ''  Thou  shalt  keep  them  secretly 
in  a  pavilion  from  the  strife  of  tongues;"^  and  never, 
alas  !  have  tongues  been  sharper  or  more  contentious 
than  in  the  maintenance  of  the  faith.  There  is  some- 
thing without  which  even  zeal  for  truth  may  be  but 
a  scorching  and  devouring  flame  ;  and  that  is  the  "  first 
love,"  the  love  ever  fresh  and  tender  for  Him  who  first 
loved  us,  the  love  which  teaches  us  to  win  and  not  to 
alienate,  to  raise  and  not  to  crush,  those  who  may  only 
be  mistaken  in  their  views,  and .  are  not  determined 
enemies  of  God. 

Possessed  of  this  spirit,  we  shall  overcome;  and  the 
first  love  will  meet  its  first  reward.  To  him  that  over- 
cometh,  says  the  Lord,  recalling  the  blessedness  of 
Eden,  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the 
Paradise  of  God. 

2.  The  second  epistle  is  that  to  Smyrna,  a  rich, 
prosperous,  and  dissolute  city,  and  largely  inhabited 
by  Jews  bitterly  opposed  to  Christ  and  Christianity. 
Here  therefore  persecution  of  those  leading  the  pure 
and  holy  life  of  the  Gospel  might  be  pecuharly  expected, 
as  indeed  it  also  peculiarly  appeared.  The  church  at 
Smyrna  thus  becomes  the  type  of  a  suffering  church, 
the  representative  of  that  condition  of  things  foretold 
in  the  words  of  Christ,  and  constantly  fulfilled  in 
the  history  of  His  people,  ''A  servant  is  not  greater 
than  his.  lord.  If  they  have  persecuted  Me,  they 
will  also  persecute  you."^ 

»  Ps.  xxxi.  20.  *  John  xv    20. 


li.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     47 

It  will  be  observed  that  at  Smyrna  the  church  is 
still  faithful,  and  that  against  her  no  word  of  reproach 
is  uttered.  Hence  the  aspect  under  which  the 
Redeemer  presents  Himself  to  that  church  is  purely 
animating  and  consolatory,  the  same  as  that  which, 
in  the  introductory  vision  in  chap,  i.,  followed  the 
action  of  the  Lord  when  He  laid  His  right  hand  upon 
the  Apostle,  who  had  fallen  to  the  ground  as  dead, 
and  when  He  said  to  him,  ''  Fear  not."^  So  now : 
These  things  saith  4he  first  and  the  last,  which  became 
dead,  and  lived  again.  Death  and  resurrection  are 
the  two  great  divisions  of  the  work  of  Christ  on  our 
behalf,  and  the  Gospel  is  summed  up  in  them.  Just 
as  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  Corinthians  when  he  would 
remind  them  of  the  substance  of  his  preaching  in 
their  midst,  ^'  For  I  declared  unto  you  first  of  all 
that  which  also  I  received,  how  that  Christ  died  for 
our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures  ;  and  that  He  was 
buried,  and  that  He  hath  been  raised  on  the  third 
day  according  to  the  Scriptures,"^  in  Hke  manner 
here  the  same  two  facts  include  all  the  truth  which 
Smyrna  held  fast,  and  with  which  come  the  life  that 
conquers  sin  and  the  joy  that  triumphs  over  sorrow. 

The  state  of  the  church  is  then  described  :  /  knoiu 
thy  tribulation,  and  thy  poverty  {but  thou  art  rich),  and 
the  blasphemy  of  than  which  say  they  are  fews,  and 
they  are  not,  but  are  a  synagogue  of  Satan.  Tribulation, 
persecution,  the  blasphemy  of  men  calling  themselves 
the  only  people  of  God  and  denying  to  Christians 
any  portion  in  His  covenant,  are  alone  alluded  to, 
though  the  church  is  at  the  same  timie  cheered  with 
the  remark  that  if  she  had  no  share  in  worldly  wealth 


^  Chap.  i.  17  »  I  Cor.  xv.  3,  4, 


48  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

and  splendour,  she  was  rich.  ''God  had  chosen  them 
that  were  poor  as  to  the  world  to  be  rich  in  faith, 
and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  He  promised  to  them 
that  love  Him."^ 

The  church  then  was  in  the  midst  of  suffering. 
Was  not  that  enough ;  and  shall  she  not  be  told  that 
her  sufferings  were  drawing  to  an  end,  that  the  night 
of  weeping  was  gone  by,  and  that  the  morning  of 
joy  was  about  to  dawn?  So  we  might  think;  but 
God's  thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts,  nor  His 
ways  as  our  ways,  and  we  are  like  children  bathing  on 
the  shore, 

Buried  a  wave  beneath ; 

The  second  wave  succeeds  before 

We  have  had  time  to  breathe. 

How  often  does  it  happen  in  the  Christian's  ex- 
perience that  one  burden  is  laid  upon  another,  and 
that  one  wave  succeeds  another,  till  he  seems  left 
desolate  and  alone  upon  the  earth.  Yet  even  then  he 
has  no  assurance  that  his  sufferings  are  at  a  close. 
The  consolation  afforded  to  him  is,  not  that  there  shall 
be  a  short  campaign,  but  only  that,  whether  long  or 
short,  he  shall  be  more  than  conqueror  through  Him 
that  loved  him.  Thus  our  Lord  does  not  now  say  to 
His  church  at  Smyrna,  Fear  none  of  those  things  that 
thou  art  suffering,  but  Fear  not  the  things  which  tJiou 
art  about  to  suffer  :  behold,  the  devil  is  about  to  cast  some 
of  you  into  prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried;  and  ye  shall  have 
tribulation  ten  days.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  to 
any  intelligent  reader  of  the  Apocalypse  that  the  "  ten 
days  "  here  spoken  of  are  neither  ten  literal  days,  nor 
ten  years,  nor  ten  successive  persecutions  of  indefinite 

*  James  ii.  5. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     49 

length.  In  conformity  with  the  symbolical  use  of 
nuirbers  in  this  book,  "ten  days"  expresses  no  more 
ill  an  a  time  which,  though  troubled,  shall  be  definite 
and  s!  ort,  a  time  which  may  be  otherwise  denoted 
by  the  language  of  St.  Peter  when  he  says  of  believers 
that  ''  now  for  a  little  while  they  have  been  put  to  grief 
in  manifold  temptations."  ^  Encompassed  by  affliction, 
therefore,  those  who  are  thus  tried  have  only  to  be 
faithful  unto  deaths  or  to  the  last  extremity  of  martyr- 
dom. He  who  died  and  lived  again  will  bestow  upon 
them  the  crown  of  life,  the  crown  of  the  kingdom, 
incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  unfading.  He  that  over-- 
Cometh  shall  not  be  hurt  of  the  second  death. 

3.  The  third  epistle  is  that  to  Pergamum,  a  city  at 
the  time  devoted  to  the  worship  of  ^sculapius,  the  god 
of  medicine,  and  in  particular  largely  engaged  with 
those  parts  of  medical  science  which  are  occupied 
with  inquiries  into  the  springs  of  life.  That  the 
wickedness  of  the  city  was  both  greater  and  more 
widespread  than  was  common  even  in  the  dark  days 
of  heathenism  is  borne  witness  to  by  the  fact  that  the 
first  words  addressed  to  it  by  Him  that  hath  the  sharp 
two-edged  swo?'d  were  these  :  /  know  where  thou  dwellest, 
even  where  Satan's  throne  is.  The  word  "  throne " 
(not,  as  in  the  Authorised  Version,  ''  seat ")  is  inten- 
tionally selected  by  the  Seer;  and  its  use  affords  an 
illustration  of  one  of  his  principles  of  style,  the  remem- 
brance of  which  is  not  unfrequently  of  value  in  inter- 
preting his  book.  Everywhere  it  is  his  wont  to  see 
over  against  the  good  its  mocking  counterpart  of  evil, 
over  against  the  light  a  corresponding  darkness.  Thus 
because  God.  occupies  a  throne  Satan  does  the  same  ; 

*  I  Pet.  i.  6. 


50  THE   BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

and  inasmuch  as  in  Pergamum  sin  was  marked  by  a 
refinement  of  greater  than  ordinary  depth,  Satan  might 
be  said  to  have  his  "  throne "  there.  This  circum- 
stance, combined  with  the  promise  to  the  Church 
contained  in  the  seventeenth  verse,  To  him  that  over- 
Cometh^  to  him  will  I  give  of  the  hidden  mamia,  and  I 
will  give  him  a  white  stone,  and  upon  the  stone  a  nczv 
name  written,  which  no  one  knoweth  but  lie  that  receiveth 
it,  may  help  us  to  understand  the  main  thought  of  this 
epistle  as  distinguished  from  the  others.  We  have 
seen  reason  to  believe  that  there  was  some  secret 
mystery  of  evil  in  the  city ;  and,  contrasted  with  this, 
we  have  now  the  promise  of  a  secret  mystery  of  life  to 
the  faithful  church.  The  Church  then  in  the  secret 
of  her  Divine  preservation  is  here  before  us.  She 
lives  a  life  the  springs  of  which  no  one  sees,  a  life  that 
is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

It  will  be  observed,  accordingly,  that,  whatever  may 
be  said  against  the  condition  of  the  city,  nothing  is 
said  against  the  church  within  it.  There  is  no  hint 
that  she  has  yielded  to  the  influences  of  the  world.  She 
has  certainly  evil-doers  in  her  midst ;  but  these,  though 
in  her,  are  not  of  her :  and  the  Christianity  of  the  great 
majority  of  her  members  remains  sound  and  sweet. 
Let  us  listen  to  the  words  of  commendation :  And 
thou  holdcst  fast  My  name,  and  didst  not  deny  My  faith, 
even  in  the  days  of  Antipas  My  witness,  My  faithful  one, 
zvho  was  killed  a^nong you,  where  Satan  dwelleth.  But  I 
have  a  few  things  against  thee,  because  thou  hast  there 
some  that  hold  the  teaching  of  Balaam,  who  taught  Balak 
to  cast  a  stumbling-block  before  the  children  of  Israel,  to 
eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  and  to  commit  fornication. 
So  hast  thou  also  some  that  hold  the  teaching  of  the 
Nicolaitans  in  like  manner.     Repent  therefore ;  or  else  I 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     51 

come  to  thee  quickly y  and  I  will  make  war  against  them 
with  the  sword  of  My  mouth.  Those  who  are  described 
in  these  words  as  "  holding  the  teaching  of  Balaam  " 
and  those  who  are  here  called  "  the  Nicolaitans  "  are  the 
same,  denoted  in  the  first  instance  by  a  description 
taken  from  the  history  of  Balaam  in  the  Old  Testament, 
and  in  the  second  by  a  word  formed  in  Greek  after  the 
fashion  of  Balaam's  name  in  Hebrew.  That  the  church 
in  her  corporate  capacity  had  not  yielded  to  the  sinful- 
ness referred  to  is  manifest  from  this,  that  they  who 
had  done  so  are  described  as  "  some,"  and  that  in  the 
threatening  of  the  sixteenth  verse  it  is  not  said,  I  will 
war  against  '^  thee,"  but  I  will  war  against  "them." 
The  sin  therefore  found  in  the  bosom  of  the  church 
was  not,  as  we  shall  find  it  to  have  been  at  Thyatira, 
with  her  consent.  She  failed,  not  because  she  en- 
couraged it,  but  because  she  did  not  take  more  vigorous 
steps  for  its  extinction.  She  did  not  sufficiently  realize 
the  fact  that  she  was  a  part  of  the  Body  of  Christ,  and 
that,  if  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer  with 
it.  Believers  in  her  community  were  too  easily  satisfied 
with  working  out  their  own  salvation,  and  thought  too 
little  of  presenting  the  whole  church  "  as  a  pure  virgin 
to  Christ."^  Therefore  it  was  that,  even  amidst  much 
faithfulness,  they  needed  to  repent,  to  feel  more  deeply 
than  they  did  that  "a  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole 
lump,"  ^  and  that  in  the  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  we 
are  to,  a  large  extent  responsible,  not  only  for' our  own, 
but  for  our  neighbours',  sins.  By  keeping  up  the 
Christian  tone  of  the  whole  Church  the  tone  of  each 
member  of  the  Church  is  heightened. 

We  thus  reach  the  close  of  the  first  three  epistles 

'  2  Cor.  xi.  2.  ^  i  Cor.  v.  6. 


52  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

*'  to  the  churches  ; "  and  we  see  that,  while  each  is 
accommodated  to  the  particular  circumstances  of  the 
Christian  community  to  which  it  is  sent,  the  three 
taken  together  present  to  us  the  three  leading  con- 
siderations upon  which,  when  we  think  of  Christ's 
Church  in  this  world,  we  naturally  dwell.  First, 
she  is  in  the  main  true  to  her  Divine  Master,  even 
when  compelled  to  confess  that  she  has  left  her  first 
love.  Secondly,  she  is  exposed  for  her  further 
cleansing  to  many  trials.  Lastly,  she  is  sustained 
by  the  unseen  influences  of  Divine  love  and  grace. 
She  eats  of  the  hidden  manna.  She  has  within  her 
breastplate  a  white,  glistering  stone,  upon  which  is 
inscribed  the  new  name  which  no  man  knoweth 
saving  he  that  receiveth  it.  She  dwells,  like  the  high- 
priest  of  old  at  the  moment  of  his  greatest  dignity 
and  honour,  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High. 
She  abides  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.  As 
a  child  she  has  entered  into  the  garden  of  the  Lord ; 
and  yet,  in  all  the  simplicity  of  her  childhood,  she 
is  both  king  and  priest. 

Such  is  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Ephesus,  Smyrna, 
and  Pergamum.  Happy  days  of  innocence  and  bliss  ! 
We  may  well  linger  over  them  for  a  little.  Too 
soon  will  they  pass  away,  and  too  soon  will  the 
Church's  conflict  with  the  world  and  her  yielding  to  it 
begin. 

4,  With  the  fourth  epistle  we  enter  upon  the  second 
group  of  epistles,  where  the  Church  is  brought  before 
us  less  as  she  is  in  herself,  than  as  she  fails  to 
maintain  her  true  position  in  the  world,  and  as  that 
separation  betvv^een  a  faithful  remnant  and  the  whole 
body  which  meets  us  at  every  step  of  her  history, 
throughout    both    the    Old    Testament  and    the    New, 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     53 

begins    to    show    itself.     Now    therefore    there    is    a 
change  of  tone. 

The  first  of  the  four,  the  fourth  in  the  series  of 
seven,  is  that  to  Thyatira  ;  and  to  the  church  there 
the  Lord  presents  Himself  in  all  the  penetrating  power 
of  those  eyes  that  as  a  flame  of  fire  search  the  inmost 
recesses  of  the  heart,  and  in  all  the  resistless  might 
of  those  feet  that  are  as  ''pillars  of  fire:"^  These 
things  saith  the  Son  of  God^  who  hath  His  eyes  like  a 
flame  of  fire,  and  His  feet  are  like  unto  burnished  brass. 

The  commendation  of  the  church  follows,  what  is 
good  being  noted  before  defects  are  spoken  of:  /  know 
thy  works,  and  thy  love  and  faith  and  ministry  and 
patience,  and  that  thy  last  works  are  more  than  the  first. 
The  commendation  is  great.  There  was  not  only 
grace,  but  growth  in  grace,  not  only  work,  but  work  in 
Christ's  cause  abounding  more  and  more.  Yet  there 
was  also  failure.  To  understand  this  it  is  necessary,  as 
already  noticed,  to  adopt  the  translation  of  the  Revised 
Version,  founded  on  the  more  correct  reading  of  the 
later  critical  editions  of  the  Greek.  Even  in  that 
version,  too,  the  translation,  given  in  the  margin,  of 
one  important  expression  has  to  be  substituted  for 
that  of  the  text.  Keeping  this  in  view,  the  Saviour 
thus  addresses  Thyatira  :  But  I  have  this  against  thee, 
that  thou  sufferest  (that  thou  toleratest,  that  thou 
lettest  alone)  thy  wife  Jezebel,  which  calleth  herself  a 
prophetess ;  and  she  teacheth  and  seduceth  My  servants  to 
comtnit  fornication,  and  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols. 
And  I  gave  her  time  that  she  should  repent;  and  she 
willeth  not  to  repent  of  her  fornication.  Behold,  I  do 
cast  her  into   a    bed,    and  them   that  commit  adultery 

'  Chap.  X.  I. 


54  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

ivith  her  into  great  tribulation,  except  they  repent  of  her 
works.  And  I  will  kill  her  children  ivith  death;  and  all 
the  churches  shall  know  that  I  ant  He  which  searcheth 
the  reins  and  hearts  :  and  I  will  give  unto  each  one  of 
you  according  to  your  works.  In  these  words  "  Jezebel  " 
is  clearly  a  symbolical  name.  It  is  impossible  to  think 
that  the  "  angel "  of  the  church  was  the  chief  pastor, 
and  that  the  woman  named  Jezebel,  spoken  of  as  she 
is,  was  his  wife.  We  have  before  us  the  notorious 
Jezebel  of  Old  Testament  history.  Her'  story  is  so 
familiar  to  every  one  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on 
it ;  and  we  need  only  further  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  sentence  in  which  her  name  is  mentioned 
is  complete  in  itself.  The  sin  of  the  church  at 
Thyatira  was  that  she  "  suffered  "  her.  In  other  words, 
the  church  tolerated  in  her  midst  the  evil  of  which 
Ahab's  wife  was  so  striking  a  representative.  She 
knew  the  world  to  be  what  it  was  ;  but,  instead  of 
making-  a  determined  effort  to  resist  it,  she  yielded  to 
its  influences.  She  repeated  the  sin  of  the  Corinthian 
Church :  '*  It  is  actually  reported  that  there  is  fornication 
among  you.  .  .  .  And  ye  are  puffed  up,  and  did  not 
rather  mourn,  that  he  that  had  done  this  deed  might 
be  taken  away  from  among  you."  ^  The  world,  in 
short,  was  in  the  church,  and  was  tolerated  there. 
Of  the  threatened  punishment,  the  "  bed  "  of  tribulation 
and  sorrow  instead  of  that  of  guilty  pleasure,  nothing 
need  be  said.  It  is  of  more  consequence  to  observe 
the  change  in  the  manner  of  address  which  meets  us 
after  that  punishment  has  been  described  :  But  to 
xou  I  say,  to  the  rest  that  are  in  Thyatira,  as  many  as 
have   not  this  teaching,   which  know  not  the  deep  things 

*    1  {ICiV.  V.   t,  2. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     55 

of  Satan,  as  they  say  ;  I  cast  upon  you  none  other  burden, 
Hoivbeit  that  which  ye  have,  hold  fast  till  I  come.  For 
the  first  time  in  these  epistles  we  meet  with  these 
who  are  spoken  of  as  ''the  rest,"  the  remnant,  who 
are  to  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  great  body 
of  the  Church's  professing  members.  The  world  has 
penetrated  into  the  Church ;  the  Church  has  become 
conformed  to  the  world  :  and  the  hour  is  rapidly 
approaching  when  the  true  disciples  of  Jesus  will 
no  longer  find  within  her  the  shelter  which  she  has 
hitherto  afforded  them,  and  when  they  will  have  to 
"  come  forth  out  of  her "  in  her  degenerate  condition.-^ 
It  is  a  striking  feature  of  these  apocalyptic  visions, 
which  has  been  too  much  missed  by  commentators. 
We  shall  meet  it  again  and  again  as  we  proceed.  In 
the  meantime  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  moment 
of  withdrawal  has  not  yet  come.  The  faithful  "  rest," 
who  had  rejected  the  false  teaching  and  shunned 
the  sinful  life,  are  to  continue  where  they  were ;  and 
the  Lord  will  cast  upon  them  none  other  burden.  Well 
for  them  that  they  had  such  a  promise  !  Their 
burden  of  suffering,  was  heavy  enough  already.  Hard 
to  contend'  with  under  any  circumstances,  suff"ering 
rises  nearer  to  the  height  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
when  the  Christian  is  "  w^ounded,"  not  by  open  foes, 
but  "  in  the  house  of  his  friends."  "  It  was  not  an 
enemy  that  reproached  me  ;  then  I  could  have  borne 
it  :  neither  was  it  he  that  hated  me  that  did  magnify 
himself  against  me ;  then  I  would  have  hid  myself 
from  him  :  but  it  was  thou,  a  man  mine  equal,  my 
companion,  and  my  familiar  friend.  We  took  sweet 
counsel  together ;  we  walked  in  the  house  of  God 
with  the  throng."  ^ 

'  Coltip.  cliap.  xviii.  4.  "^  Ps.  Iv.  t2-t4. 


56  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

The  trial  was  great;  so  also  is  the  consolation  :  And 
he  that  overcometh,  and  he  that  keepeth  My  works  unto 
the  end,  to  him  ivill  I  give  authority  over  the  nations: 
and  as  a  shepherd  he  shall  tend  them  with  a  sceptre  of 
iron^  as  the  vessels  of  the  potter  are  they  broken  to  shivers; 
as  I  also  have  received  of  My  Father :  and  I  will  give  him 
the  moniing  star.  It  was  a  heathen  element  that 
clouded  the  sky  of  the  church  at  Thyatira.  That 
element,  nay  the  nations  out  of  which  it  springs,  shall 
be  crushed  beneath  the  iron  sceptre  of  the  King  who 
shall  "reign  in  Mount  Zion,  and  in  Jerusalem,  and 
before  His  ancients  gloriously."  ^  The  clouds  shall 
disappear ;  and  Jesus,  "  the  bright,  the  morning  star,"  ^ 
having  given  Himself  to  His  people,  He  and  they  to- 
gether shall  shine  with  its  clear  but  peaceful  light  when 
it  appears  in  the  heavens,  the  harbinger  of  day. 

5.  The  fifth  epistle  is  that  to  Sardis,  and  in  the 
superscription  He  who  sends  it  describes  Himself  as 
One  that  hath  the  seven  Spirits  of  God ^  and  the  seven  stars. 
Both  expressions  have  already  met  us,  the  former  in 
chap.  i.  4,  the  latter  in  chap.  ii.  I.  A  different  word 
from  that  used  in  the  address  to  Ephesus  is  indeed 
used  here  to  indicate  the  relation  of  the  Lord  to  these 
stars  or  angels  of  the  churches.  There  the  glorified 
Lord  "  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  His  right  hand ;  " 
here  He  "  hath "  them.  Like  every  other  change, 
even  of  the  slightest  kind,  in  this  book,  the  difference  is 
instructive.  To  "  hold  "  them  is  to  hold  them  fast  for 
their  protection  ;  to  ''  have  "  them  is  to  have  them  for 
a  possession,  to  have  them  not  only  outwardly  and  in 
name,  but  inwardly  and  in  reality,  as  His  own.  Thus 
Christ  ''hath"  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  in  all  His  varied 

*  Isa.  xxiv.  23.  ^  Chap.  xxii.  16. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     57 

or  sevenfold  influences  is,  as  He  prcceedeth  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  not  only  God's,  but  His.  Thus 
also  Christ  ''  hath  "  the  seven  stars  or  churches,  here 
spoken  of  in  immediate  connexion  with  the  Spirit,  and 
therefore  viewed  chiefly  in  that  spirituality  of  feeling 
and  of  life  which  ought  to  be  the  great  mark  distin- 
guishing them  from  the  world.  It  was  the  mark  in 
which  Sardis  failed.  Let  her  take  heed  to  Him  with 
whom  she  has  to  do. 

/  know,  are  the  words  addressed  to  her,  thy  works, 
that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  thou  art  dead. 
Be  thou  watchful,  and  stahlish  the  things  that  remain, 
which  were  ready  to  die  :  for  I  have  found  no  works  of 
thine  fidfilled  before  My  God.  Remember  therefore  how 
thou  hast  received  and  didst  hear ;  and  keep  it,  and  repent. 
If  therefore  thou  shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come  as  a  thief, 
and  thou  shalt  not  know  what  hour  1  zvill  come  upon  thee. 
The  world  had  been  tolerated  in  Thyatira,  the  first  of 
the  last  four  churches ;  in  Sardis,  the  second,  it  is  more 
than  tolerated,  Sardis  has  substituted  the  outward 
for  the  inward.  She  has  been  proud  of  her  external 
ordinances,  and  has  thought  more  of  them  than  of  living 
in  the  Spirit  and  walking  in  the  Spirit.  True  piety  has 
declined ;  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  sins  of  the 
flesh,  alluded  to  in  the  immediately  following  words 
of  the  epistle,  have  asserted  their  supremacy.  More 
even  than  this,  Sardis  had  a  name  that  she  lived  w^hile 
she  was  dead.  She  was  renowned  among  men.  The 
world  looked,  and  beheld  with  admiration  what  was  to 
it  the  splendour  of  her  worship ;  it  listened,  and  heard 
with  enthusiasm  the  music  of  her  praise.  And  the 
church  was  pleased  that  it  should  be  so.  Not  in 
humility,  lowliness,  and  deeds  of  self-sacrificing  love 
did  she  seek  her  *'  name,"  but  in  what  the  world  would 


58  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

have  been  equally  delighted  with  though  the  inspiring 
soul  of  it  all  had  been  folly  or  sin.  A  stronghold  had 
been  established  by  the  world  in  Sardis. 

Yet  there  also  the  Good  Shepherd  had  His  little 
flock,  and  there  again  we  meet  them.  But  thou  hast  a 
few  names  in  Sardis  which  did  not  defile  their  garments. 
These  were  to  Sardis  what  "  the  rest  "  were  to  Thyatira. 
They  were  the  "  gleanings  left  in  Israel,  as  the  shaking 
of  an  olive  tree,  two  or  three  berries  in  the  top  of  the 
uppermost  bough,  four  or  five  in  the  outmost  branches 
of  a  fruitful  tree."^  They  were  the  '^  new  wine  found 
in  the  cluster,  and  one  saith,  Destroy  it  not ;  for  a 
blessing  is  in  it."^  To  them  therefore  great  promises 
are  given :  They  shall  walk  with  Me  in  whit^;  for  they 
are  worthy.  He  that  overcometh  shall  thus  be  arrayed  in 
white  garments ;  and  I  will  in  no  wise  blot  his  name  out 
of  the  book  of  life,  and  I  will  confess  his  name  before  My 
Father,  and  before  His  angels.  It  is  the  glorified  Lord 
who,  as  the  High-priest  of  His  Church,  "w'alketh"  in 
the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks ;  and,  as  priests, 
these  shall  walk  with  Him  in  a  similar  glory.  Upon 
earth  they  were  despised,  but  beyond  the  earth  they 
shall  be  openly  acknowledged  and  vindicated.  They 
shall  be  arrayed  in  those  garments  of  glistering  purity 
which  were  with  difficulty  kept  white  in  the  world,  but 
which  in  the  world  to  come  Divine  favour  shall  keep 
free  from,  every  stain. 

6.  The  sixth  epistle  is  to  Philadelphia ;  and  the 
remarkable  circumstance  connected  with  this  church 
is  that,  though  spoken  of  as  having  but  "  a  little 
power,"  it  is  not  seriously  blamed.  In  this  respect  it 
resembles  the  church  at  Smyrna  in  the  first  group  of 

'  Isa.  xvii.  6.  ^  Isa.  Ixv.  8. 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     59 

these  seven  epistles.  What  has  mainly  to  be  noticed, 
however,  is  that  it  is  not  simply,  like  that  at  Smyrna, 
a  suffering  church.  It  has  been  engaged  in  an  earnest 
and  hot  struggle  with  the  world,  as  the  superscription, 
the  commendation,  and  the  promises  of  the  epistle 
combine  to  testify. 

The  superscription  is,  These  things  saith  He  that  is 
holy,  He  that  is  true,  He  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  He 
that  openeth,  and  none  shall  shut,  and  that  shutteth,  and 
none  openeth.  The  figure  is  taken  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment; and  both  there  and  here  the  context  shows  us 
that  it  is  neither  the  key  of  knowledge,  nor  the  key  of 
discipline,  nor  the  key  of  the  treasures  of  the  kingdom 
that  is  spoken  of,  but  the  key  of  power  to  open  the 
Lord's  house  as  a  sure  refuge  from  all  evil,  and  to 
preserve  safe  for  ever  those  who  are  admitted  to  it. 
'*  I  will  call  My  servant  EUakim  the  son  of  Hilkiah," 
says  the  Almighty  by  His  prophet,  "  and  I  will  clothe 
him  with  thy  robe,  and  strengthen  him  with  thy  girdle, 
and  I  will  commit  thy  government  into  his  hand  :  and 
he  shall  be  a  father  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
and  to  the  house  of  Judah.  And  the  key  of  the  house 
of  David  will  I  lay  upon  his  shoulder;  and  he  shall 
open,  and  none  shall  shut ;  and  he  shall  shut,  and  none 
shall  open."^  Whoever  be  our  adversaries,  we  know 
that  in  the  hollow  of  the  Lord's  hand  we  are  safe. 

The  commendation  of  the  epistle  tells  the  same  tale  : 
/  know  thy  works  {behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  a  door 
opened,  which  none  can  shut),  that  thou  hast  a  little 
poweVy  and  didst  keep  My  word,  and  didst  not  deny  My 
name.  The  Church  had  "a  little  power/'  and  she 
had  shown  this  in  the  struggle. 

'  Isa.  xxii,  21,  22. 


6o  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

So  also  with  the  promises  :  Behold^  I  give  of  the 
synagogue  of  Satan,  of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and 
they  are  not,  but  do  lie ;  behold,  I  will  make  them  to  come 
and  worship  before  thy  feet,  and  to  know  that  I  have  loved 
thee.  Because  thou  didst  keep  the  word  of  My  patience, 
I  also  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  trial,  that  hour 
which  is  to  come  upon  the  whole  inhabited  earth,  to  try 
them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth.  I  come  quickly :  hold 
fast  that  ivhich  thou  hast,  that  no  one  take  thy  crown.  He 
that  overcometh,  I  will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of 
My  God,  and  he  shall  7to  more  come  forth :  and  I  will 
write  upon  him  the  name  of  My  God,  and  the  name  of 
the  city  of  My  God,  the  new  Jerusalem,  which  cometh 
down  out  of  heaven  from  My  God,  and  Mine  own  new 
name.  How  fierce  the  struggle  of  Philadelphia  had 
been  with  the  world  we  learn  from  these  words,  in 
which  the  enemies  of  the  Church — "Jews"  they  call 
themselves,  the  people  of  God,  but  "  they  are  not " 
— are  brought  before  us  like  vanquished  nations  at 
her  feet,  as  she  sits  in  the  heavenly  places,  paying 
homage  to  her  against  whom  they  had  so  long,  but 
vainly,  struggled.  It  is  impossible  not  to  see  the 
difference  between  this  church  and  that  at  Smyrna. 
No  doubt  there  had  been  ''  blasphemy  of  them  which 
say  they  are  Jews"  in  the  latter  case,  but  worse  trials 
were  only  spoken  of  as  about  to  come.  Here  the  trials 
have  come,  and  the  chuich  has  risen  triumphantly 
above  them.  Therefore  will  the  Lord  admit  her  to 
His  heavenly  mansions,  and  will  make  her  a  pillar  in 
His  Father's  house,  whence  she  shall  come  forth  no 
more.  He  Himself  "  went  forth  "  from  His  Father  that 
He  might  be  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  and  might 
die  on  cur  behalf.  He  returned  to  His  Father,  and 
never  again  "comes  forth"  as  He  came  in  the  days 


ii.,  iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     6i 

of  His  flesh.  Having  died  once,  He  dieth  no  more ; 
and  they  who  have  borne  His  cross  shall  wear,  when 
victors  in  His  cause,  His  crown  of  victory. 

7.  The  seventh  epistle  is  to  Laodicea,  and  here  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  we  have  the  picture  of  a  church 
in  which  the  power  of  the  world  carries  almost  all 
before  it.  The  church  is  addressed  by  Him  who  de- 
scribes Himself  a.s  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  true  Witness, 
the  Beginning  of  the  creation  of  God,  upon  which  imme- 
diately follows  a  charge  as  to  her  condition  in  which 
there  is  no  redeeming  point.  Only  later  do  we  see 
that  there  is  hope.  /  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art 
neither  cold  nor  hot :  I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot. 
So  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither  hot  nor  cold, 
I  will  spew  thee  out  of  My  mouth.  Because  thou  sayest, 
I  am  rich,  and  have  gotten  riches,  and  have  need  of 
110 thing;  and  knowcst  not  that  thou  art  the  ivretched  one, 
and  miserable  and  poor  and  blind  and  naked :  I  counsel 
thee  to  buy  of  Me  gold  refined  by  fire,  that  thou  niayest 
become  rich;  and  white  garments,  that  thou  mayest  clothe 
thyself,  and  that  the  shame  of  thy  nakedness  be  not  made 
manifest;  and  eyesalve  to  anoint  thine  eyes,  that  thou 
mayest  see.  As  many  as  I  love,  I  reprove  and  chasten  : 
be  zealous  therefore,  and  repent.  To  interpret  the 
boasting  of  the  church  given  in  these  words  as  if 
it  referred  to  spiritual  rather  than  material  riches 
is  entirely  to  mistake  the  meaning.  Worldly  wealth 
is  in  the  writer's  view.  The  members  of  the  church 
generally  have  aimed  at  riches,  and  have  gotten  them. 
Possession  of  riches  has  also  been  followed  by  its  usual 
effects.  The  seen  and  the  temporal  have  usurped  in 
their  minds  the  place  of  the  unseen  and  the  eternal. 
Perhaps  they  have  even  regarded  their  worldly  pros- 
perity   as    a    token    of    the    Divine    favour,    and    are 


62  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

soothing  themselves  with  the  reflection  that  they  have 
made  the  best  of  both  worlds,  when  they  have  really 
sacrificed  everything  to  one  world,  and  that  the  lower 
of  the  two.  The  last  picture  of  the  Church  is  the 
saddest  of  all. 

Yet  is  Laodicea  not  altogether  without  hope.  Behold^ 
says  He  whose  every  word  is  truth,  /  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock :  if  any  man  hear  My  voice  and  open  the  door,  I 
will  come  in  to  hiin,  and  will  sup  ivith  himy  and  he  with 
Me.  Even  in  Laodicea  there  are  some  who,  inasmuch 
as  they  have  fought  the  hardest  battle,  shall  be 
welcomed  to  the  highest  reward.  He  that  overcometh, 
I  will  give  to  him  to  sit  down  with  Me  in  My  throne, 
as  I  also  overcame,  and  sat  down  with  My  Father  in 
His  throne.  Beyond  that  neither  hope  nor  imagination 
can  rise. 

The  epistles  to  the  seven  churches  are  over.  They 
present  the  Church  to  us  as  she  appears  on  the  field 
of  history.  They  set  before  us  the  leading  character- 
istics of  her  condition  partly  as  she  was  in  "  Asia " 
at  the  moment  when  the  Apostle  wrote,  partly  as 
she  shall  be  throughout  all  time  and  on  the  widest, 
as  well  as  the  narrowest,  scale.  These  characteristics 
may  be  shortly  summed  up  as — in  the  first  group  of 
three,  love  to  the  Redeemer,  yet  love  liable,  and  even 
beginning,  to  grow  cold ;  persecution  and  trials  of 
many  kinds ;  preservation  by  the  secret  grace  of  God 
and  in  the  hidden  life  :  in  the  second  group  of  four, 
yielding  on  the  part  of  the  majority  to  sins  associated 
with  unchristian  doctrine;  formalism  in  religion;  weak- 
ness in  the  midst  of  trial,  even  though  not  accom- 
panied by  faithlessness  ;  and  lukewarmness,  springing 
from  a  preference  of  the  things  of  time  to  those  of 
eternity.     To   these    characteristics,  however,  have  to 


ii.,iii.]     THE  CHURCH  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HISTORY.     63 

be  added,  as  more  or  less  accompan^ang  them,  many 
of  the  active  graces  of  the  Christian  hfe  :  labour,  and 
patience,  and  faith,  and  charity,  and  works,  whatever 
makes  the  Christian  Church  a  light  in  the  world  and 
the  object  of  her  Lord's  care  and  watchfulness.  In 
reading  the  seven  epistles,  we  behold  a  lively  picture 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  her  graces  and  in  her 
failings,  in  her  strength  and  in  her  weakness,  in  her 
joys  and  in  her  sorrows,  in  her  falls  under  the  influence 
of  temptation  and  in  her  returns  to  the  path  of  duty. 
The  characteristics  thus  spoken  of  are  not  peculiar  to 
any  particular  age,  but  may  mark  her  at  one  time  less, 
at  another  more,  at  one  time  individually,  at  another  in 
combination.  Taken  as  a  whole,  they  present  her  to 
us  in  her  Divine  ideal  marred  by  human  blemishes ;  we 
are  prepared  to  acknowledge  the  necessity,  the  wisdom, 
and  the  mercy  of  the  trials  that  await  her ;  and  we 
learn  to  anticipate  with  gladness  her  final  and  glorious 
deliverance. 

One  brief  concluding  remark  ought  to  be  made. 
The  epistles  now  considered  ought  to  be  sufficient 
in  themselves  to  show  that  the  Apocalypse  is  not  a 
series  of  visions  intended  only  to  illustrate  one  or  two 
ideas  which  had  taken  a  strong  hold  of  the  Apostle's 
mind,  or  one  or  two  great  principles  of  the  Divine 
government  in  general.  St.  John  starts  from  the 
realities  around  him  as  much  as  any  writer  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  true  that  he  sees  in  them  eternal 
principles  at  work,  and  that  he  rises  to  the  thought 
of  ideal  good  and  of  ideal  evil ;  but  he  is  not  on  that 
account  less  true  to  fact,  less  impressed  by  fact.  On 
the  contrary,  his  very  depth  of  insight  into  the  meaning 
of  the  facts  makes  him  what  he  is.  He  who  would  write 
a  philosophy  of  history  is  not  less,  but  more,  dependent 


64  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


upon  the  facts  of  history  than  he  to  whom  a  fact  is 
valuable  simply  in  its  individual  and  isolated  form.  It 
is  the  present  therefore  that  stirs  the  writer  of  this 
book,  but  stirs  him  the  more  because  he  beholds  in 
it  principles  and  issues  connected  with  Him  who  was, 
and  is,  and  is  to  come,  the  covenant-keeping  God,  the 
Judge  of  men,  the  unchangeable  I  am. 

Hence  also  the  mistake  sometimes  made  of  thinking 
that  the  purpose  of  unfolding  the  principles  of  the 
Divine  government  could  not  be  a  sufficient  motive  to 
St.  John  to  write. -^  Every  cruelty  to  the  saints  of  God 
which  he  witnessed,  every  cry  of  oppression  which  he 
heard,  supplied  a  motive.  We  may  not  feel  these 
things  now,  but  the  iron  of  them  entered  into  the 
soul  of  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved.  We  need 
more  prophets  like  him  to  make  it  ring  in  the  ears 
of  selfish  wealth  and  of  ease  indifferent  to  the  ills 
festering  around  it,  "  For  the  spoiling  of  the  poor,  for 
the  sighing  of  the  needy,  now  will  I  arise,  saith  the 
Lord."  2 

•  Dods,  Introdiiclion  to  New  Testament^  p.  244. 
«  Ps.  xii.  5. 


CHAPTER   III. 

ANTICIPATIONS   OF  THE   CHURCH'S    VICTORY. 
Rev.  iv.,  v. 

WE  have  seen  in  considering  the  first  chapter  of 
the  Apocalypse  that  the  book  as  a  whole  is  to 
be  occupied  with  the  Church's  struggle  in  the  world ; 
and  in  the  second  and  third  chapters  the  Church 
herself  has  been  placed  before  us  as  she  occupies  her 
position  upon  the  field  of  history.  But  the  struggle 
has  not  yet  begun,  nor  will  it  begin  until  we  reach  the 
sixth  chapter.  Chaps,  iv.  and  v.  are  therefore  still  to 
be  regarded  as  in  a  certain  measure  introductory. 
They  form  a  separate — the  third — section  of  the  book  ; 
and  the  first  questions  that  meet  us  in  connexion 
with  them  are,  What  is  their  relation  to  the  main  pur- 
pose of  the  author  ?  What  is  their  leading  conception  ? 
and  Why  are  they  placed  where  they  are  ? 

In  answering  these  questions,  we  are  aided  by 
the  strictly  parallel  structure  of  the  fourth  Gospel. 
The  Prologue  of  that  book,  contained  in  chap.  i.  1-18, 
suggests  the  object  which  the  writer  has  in  view.  The 
next  section — chap.  i.  19-ii.  11 — places  before  us 
the  Redeemer  \'^'ho£e  glory  he  is  to  describe.  The 
struggle  of  the  Son  of  God  with  the  world  does  not 
begin  till  v/e  come  to  chap.  v.  Eetv/een  chap.  ii.  12 
and  chap.  iv.  54  there  is  thus  a  considerable  interval, 
in  which  we  have  the  cleansing  of  the  Temple  and 
the   victory  of  Jesus   over   the   unbelief  of  the   Jew 

5 


66  THE  BOOK  OF   REVELATION, 

Nicodemiis,  the  Samaritan  woman,  and  the  king's 
officer  of  Galilee,  who  was  probably  a  Gentile.  In  this 
intervening  space  the  leading  thought  seems  to  be 
that  of  victory,  not  indeed  of  victory  in  the  struggle, 
but  of  victory  which  prepares  us  for  it,  and  fills  the 
mind  with  hope  before  it  begins.  In  hke  manner  the 
two  chapters  upon  which  we  are  about  to  enter  are 
occupied  with  songs  of  victory.  Catching  their  spirit, 
we  shall  boldly  accompany  the  Church  into  the  struggle 
which  follows,  and  shall  be  animated  by  a  joyful 
confidence  that,  whatever  her  outward  fortunes,  He 
that  is  with  her  is  more  than  they  that  be  with  her 
enemies.-^ 

"While  such  is  the  general  conception  of  the  third 
and  fourth  chapters  viewed  as  one,  we  have  further  to 
ask  whether,  subordinate  to  their  united  purpose,  there 
is  not  a  difference  between  them.  Such  a  difference 
there  appears  to  be ;  and  words  of  our  Lord  in  the 
fourth  Gospel,  spoken  upon  an  occasion  which  had 
deeply  impressed  itself  upon  the  mind  of  the  Evangelist, 
may  help  us  to  determine  what  it  is.  In  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  that  Gospel  Jesus  encourages  His  Apostles 
as  He  sends  them  forth  to  fight  His  battle  in  the  world. 
"Let  not,"  He  says,  ''your  heart  be  troubled:  believe 
in  God,  believe  also  in  Me."  The  section  of  the 
Apocal^'pse  upon  which  we  are  about  to  enter  embraces 
a  similar  thought  in  both  its  parts.  Chap.  iv.  conveys 
to  the  Church  the  assurance  that  He  who  is  the  ulti- 
mate source  of  all  existence  is  on  her  side;  chap.  v. 
that  she  may  depend  upon  Christ  and  His  redeeming 
work.  The  two  chapters  taken  together  are  a  cry  to 
the  Church  from  her  glorified  Head,  before  she  enters 


*  Comp.  2  Chron.  xxxii.  7,  8. 


iv.  1-5.]      ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.        67 

into    the   tribulation    that  awaits  her,    ''  Let  not  3'our 
heart  be  troubled :  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  iUe." 

After  these  things  I  saw  and,  behold,  a  door  opened  in  heaven, 
and  the  first  voice  which  I  heard,  a  voice  as  of  a  trumpet  speaking 
with  me,  one  saying,  Come  up  hither,  and  I  will  show  thee  the 
things  which  must  come  to  pass  hereafter.  Straightway  I  was  in 
the  Spirit :  and,  behold,  there  was  a  throne  set  in  heaven,  and  One 
sitting  upon  the  throne;  and  He  that  sat  was  to  look  upon  like  a 
jasper  stone  and  a  sardius ;  and  there  was  a  rainbow  round  about 
the  throne,  like  an  emerald  to  look  upon.  And  round  about  the 
throne  were  four-and-twenty  thrones :  and  upon  the  thrones  I  sav> 
four-and-twenty  elders  sitting,  arrayed  in  white  garments,  and  on 
their  heads  crowns  of  gold.  And  out  of  the  throne  proceed  lightnings 
and  voices  and  thunders.  And  there  were  seven  lamps  of  fire 
burning  before  the  throne,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God 
(iv.  1-5). 

The  first  voice  here  spoken  of  is  the  voice  of  chap. 
i.  10:  "And  I  heard  behind  me  a  great  voice,  as  of 
a  trumpet ;  "  and  it  is  well  to  remember  that  that  voice 
introduced  the  vision  of  a  Son  of  man  who,  while  both 
King  and  Priest,  was  King  and  Priest  in  judgment. 
It  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  the  sound  of  the  same 
voice  is  intended  to  indicate  the  same  thing  here,  and 
that  the  King  whom  we  are  about  to  behold  is  One 
who  has  "  prepared  His  throne  for  judgment."  ^ 

The  Seer  is  introduced  to  a  scene  which  we  first 
recognise  as  the  glorious  audience-chamber  of  a  great 
King.  Everything  as  yet  speaks  of  royalty,  and  of 
royal  majesty,  power,  and  judgment.  Th&  jasper  stone 
as  we  learn  from  a  later  passage  of  this  book,  in  which 
it  is  said  to  be  "  clear  as  crystal,"  ^  was  of  a  bright, 
sparkling  whiteness;  and  it  filly  represents  the  holiness 
of  Him  of  whom  the  seraphim  in  Isaiah  cry  one  to 
another,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  ^  and 

^  Ps.  ix.  7.  -  Chap.  xxi.  II,  ^  Isa.  vi.  3. 


68  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

who  in  this  ver}^  chapter  is  celebrated  by  the  unresting 
cherubim  with  the  words,  "  Holy,  hol}^,  holy,  is  the 
Lord,  God,  the  Almighty,  which  was  and  which  is  and 
which  is  to  come."  The  sardius^  again,  was  of  a  fiery 
red  colour,  and  can  denote  nothing  but  the  terror  of  the 
Almighty's  wrath.  Out  of  the  throne  also — not  merely 
out  of  the  atmosphere  surrounding  it,  but  out  of  the 
throne  itself — proceed  lightnings  and  voices  and  thunders, 
always  throughout  the  Apocalypse  emblems  of  judg- 
ment ;  while  the  use  of  the  word  burn  in  other  parts 
of  the  same  book,  and  the  fact  that  what  the  Seer 
beheld  was  not  so  much  lamps  as  torches,  leads  to  the 
belief  that  these  torches  as  they  burned  before  the 
throne  sent  out  a  blazing  and  fierce  rather  than  a  calm 
and  soft  light.  It  is  true  that  the  rainbow  round  about 
the  throne  points  to  the  Divine  covenant  of  grace  and 
promise,  and  that  its  emerald  greenness,  absorbing,  or 
at  least  throwing  into  the  shade,  its  other  and  varied 
hues,  tells  with  peculiar  force  of  something  on  which  the 
eye  loves,  and  does  not  fear,  to  rest.  But  the  mercy 
of  God  does  not  extinguish  His  righteousness  and 
judgment.  Different  as  such  qualities  may  seem  to  be, 
they  are  combined  in  Him  with  whom  the  Church  and 
the  world  have  to  do.  In  the  New  Testament  not 
less  than  in  the  Old  the  Almighty  reveals  Himself  in 
the  awakening  terrors  of  His  wrath  as  well  as  in  the 
winning  gentleness  of  His  love.  St.  Peter  speaks  of 
our  Lord  as  not  only  the  chief  corner-stone  laid  in 
Zion,  elect,  precious,  so  that  he  that  believeth  on  Him 
shall  not  be  put  to  shame,  but  as  a  stone  of  stumbling 
and  rock  of  offence ;  ^  and  when  the  writer  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  gives  us  his  loftiest  description 

'  I  Pet.  ii.  6,  8. 


iv.  6  8.]      ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.        69 

of  the  privileges  of  the  Christian  Church,  he  closes  it 
with  the  words,  "  Wherefore,  receiving  a  kingdom 
that  cannot  be  shaken,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we 
may  offer  service  well- pleasing  to  God  with  reverence 
and  awe  :  for  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire."^  So  also 
here.  Would  we  conceive  of  God  aright,  even  after 
we  have  been  brought  into  the  full  enjoyment  of  all 
the  riches  of  His  grace  and  love,  w^e  must  think  of  Him 
as  represented  by  the  jasper  and  the  sardius  as  well  as 
by  the  emerald. 

The  four-and-twenty  elders  occupying  thrones  (not 
seats)  around  the  throne  are  to  be  regarded  as  re- 
presentatives of  the  glorified  Church ;  and  the  number, 
twice  twelve,  seems  to  be  obtained  by  combining  the 
number  of  the  patriarchs  of  the  Old  Testament  with 
that  of  the  Apostles  of  the  New. 

The  description  of  the  heavenly  scene  is  now  con- 
tinued : — 

And  before  the  throne,  as  it  were  a  glassy  sea  like  unto  crystal ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and  round  about  the  throne,  four 
living  creatures  full  of  eyes  before  and  behind.  And  the  first 
creature  was  like  a  lion,  and  the  second  creature  like  a  calf,  and 
the  third  creature  had  a  face  as  of  a  man,  and  the  fourth  creature 
was  like  a  flying  eagle.  And  the  four  living  creatures,  having  each 
one  of  them  six  wings,  are  full  of  eyes  round  about  and  within ; 
and  they  have  no  rest  day  and  night,  saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the 
Lord,  God,  the  Almighty,  which  was  and  which  is  and  which  is  to 
come  (iv.  6-8). 

Up  to  this  point  we  have  been  beholding  a  royal 
court ;  in  the  words  now  quoted  the  priestly  element 
comes  in.  The  glassy  sea  naturally  leads  the  thoughts 
to  the  great  brazen  laver  known  as  the  brazen  sea 
which  stood  in  the  court  of  Solomon's  temple  between 

*  Heb.  xii.  28,  29. 


70  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  altar  and  the  sanctuary,  and  at  which  the  priests 
cleansed  themselves  before  entering  upon  the  discharge 
of  their  duties  within  the  precincts  of  God's  holy  house. 
The  resemblance  is  not  indeed  exact ;  and  were  it  not 
for  what  follows,  there  might  be  little  upon  which  to 
rest  this  supposition.  We  know,  however,  from  many 
examples,  that  the  Seer  uses  the  figures  of  the  Old 
Testament  with  great  freedom ;  and  as  the  Temple 
source  of  the  living  creatures  next  introduced  to  us 
cannot  be  mistaken,  it  becomes  the  more  probable  that 
the  brazen  sea  of  the  same  building,  whatever  be  the 
actual  meaning  of  the  figure — a  point  that  will  meet  us 
afterwards — suggests  the  '^  glassy  sea." 

"When  we  turn  to  the  **  living  creatures,"  there  can 
be  no  doubt  whatever  that  we  are  in  the  midst  of 
Temple  imagery.  These  are  the  cherubim,  two  of 
which,  fashioned  in  gold,  were  placed  above  the  mercy- 
seat  in  the  holy  of  holies,  so  that,  inasmuch  as  that 
mercy-seat  was  regarded  as  peculiarly  the  throne  of 
God,  Israel  was  invited  to  think  of  its  King  as  "  sitting 
between  the  cherubim."^  These  figures,  however, 
were  not  confined  to  that  particular  spot,  nor  were  they 
fashioned  only  in  that  particular  way,  for  the  curtain 
and  the  veil  which  formed  the  sides  of  the  Most  Holy 
Place  were  wrought  with  cherubim  of  cunning  work,^ 
so  that  one  entering  that  sacred  spot  was  surrounded 
by  them.  In  the  midst  of  the  cherubim  spoken  of  in 
these  verses  we  are  thus  in  the  midst  of  Temple  figures 
and  of  priestly  thoughts.  It  is  impossible  here  to  trace 
the  history  of  the  cherubim  throughout  the  Bible ;  and 
we  must  be  content  with  referring  to  two  points  con- 
nected with  them,  of  importance  for  the  interpretation 

*  Ps.  xcix.  I,  *  Excd,  xxvi.  i. 


iv.  6-8.]      ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.        71 

of  this  book  :  the  representative  nature  of  the  figures 
and  the  aspect  under  which  we  are  to  see  them.^ 

As  to  the  first  of  these,  the  human  element  in  the 
cherubim  is  at  once  intelhgible.  It  can  be  nothing 
but  man ;  while  the  fact  that  they  occupy  so  large  a 
position  in  the  most  sacred  division  of  the  Tabernacle 
is  sufficient  to  prove  that  man,  so  represented,  is 
thought  of  as  redeemed  and  brought  to  the  highest 
stage  of  spiritual  perfection.  The  other  elements 
referred  to  certainly  do  not  indicate  either  new  qualities 
added  to  humanity,  or  an  intensification  of  those  already 
possessed  by  it,  as  if  we  might  cherish  the  prospect 
of  a  time  when  the  physical  qualities  of  man  shall 
equal  in  their  strength  those  of  the  animals  around 
him,  when  he  shall  possess  the  might  of  the  Hon,  the 
power  of  the  ox,  and  the  swiftness  of  the  eagle.  They 
represent  rather  the  different  departments  of  nature 
as  these  are  distributed  into  the  animate  and  inanimate 
creation.  Taking  the  "  living  creatures  "  together  in 
all  their  parts,  they  are  thus  an  emblem  of  man,  asso- 
ciated on  the  one  hand  with  the  material  creation,  on 
the  other  with  the  various  tribes  of  animals  by  which 
it  is  inhabited,  but  all  redeemed,  transfigured,  perfected, 
delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  and  brought 
into  "  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God."  ^ 
They  have  a  still  wider  and  more  comprehensive  mean- 
ing than  the  "  twenty-four  elders,"  the  latter  setting 
before  us  only  the  Church,  but  the  former  all  creation, 
glorified. 

The  second  point  above  mentioned — the  aspect  worn 
by  the  living  creatures — demands  also  a  few  remarks, 

'  Ccmp.  Bilile  Educator,  vol.  iii.,  p.   290,  where  the  writer  has  dis- 
cussed this  subject  at  some  length, 
^  Rom.  viii.  21. 


72  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

for  the  view  commonly  entertained  upon  it  seems  to  be 
erroneous.  Misled  by  the  mention  of  the  calf,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  ox,  and  not  the  bull-calf,  interpreters 
have  allowed  the  mode  in  which  they  understood  this 
particular  to  rule  their  interpretation  of  the  others.  It 
has  been  regarded  as  the  emblem  of  endurance  and  of 
patient  labour  rather  than  of  power  and  rage ;  while, 
following  the  same  line  of  thought,  the  eagle  has  been 
treated  as  the  king  of  birds  soaring  in  the  blue  vault  of 
heaven  rather  than  as  hastening  (like  the  vulture)  to 
his  prey.^  The  whole  conception  of  the  cherubim  has 
thus  been  modified  and  shaped  in  the  minds  of  men 
under  a  form  altogether  different  from  that  in  which  it. 
is  really  presented  to  us  in  Scripture.  The  cherubim 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  "living  creatures"  of 
the  New  are  supposed  to  represent  "  majesty  and  peer- 
less strength,"  "  patient  and  productive  industry,"  and 
"  soaring  energy  and  nimbleness  of  action."  In  reality 
they  rather  represent  qualities  that  strike  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  men  and  suggest  the  idea  of  an  irresistibly 
destructive  force.  With  this  view  all  that  is  elsewhere 
said  of  them  corresponds.  They  are  not  simply 
spoken  of  as  partakers  of  the  favour  of  God.  They 
are  instruments  in  the  execution  of  His  wrath.  When 
our  first  parents  were  driven  from  the  garden  of  Eden, 
they  were  placed  "  at  the  east  of  the  garden,"  along 
with  "a  flaming  sword  which  turned  every  way,  to 
keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life."^  When  we  are 
introduced  to  them  in  Ezekiel,  it  is  said  that  "  their 
appearance  was  like  burning  coals  of  fire,  like  the 
appearance  of  torches  :  it  went  up  and  down  among 
the  living  creatures  ;  and  the  fire  was  bright,  and  out 

>  Job'  ix.  26.  '  Gen.  iii.  24. 


iv.  6-8.]      ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCWS  VICTORY.        73 

of  the  fire  went  forth  Hghtning.  And  the  living  crea- 
tures ran  and  returned  as  the  appearance  of  a  flash  of 
lightning."^  Similar  associations  are  connected  with 
them  throughout  the  Apocalypse.  The  opening  of 
each  of  the  first  four  seals,  the  four  that  deal  with 
judgments  upon  the  earth,  is  immediately  followed  by 
a  voice,  "  as  it  were  the  noise  of  thunder,"  from  one  of 
the  four  living  creatures,  saying,  Come.^  One  of  them 
gives  to  the  seven  angels  "seven  golden  bowls  full 
of  the  wrath  of  God."  ^  And  after  the  destruction  of 
Bab}' Ion,  when  her  smoke  is  ascending  up  for  ever  and 
ever,  and  the  voice  of  much  people  in  heaven  calls  for 
praise  to  Him  who  hath  avenged  the  blood  of  His 
servants  at  her  hand,  they  "  fall  down  and  worship 
God  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  saying.  Amen ; 
Hallelujah."*  There  can  be  little  doubt,  then,  as  to 
the  meaning  of  these  four  living  creatures.  They  are 
sharers  of  the  Almighty's  holiness,  and  of  that  holiness 
in  its  more  awful  form,  as  a  holiness  that  cannot  look 
on  sin  but  with  abhorrence.  They  are  the  vicegerents 
of  His  kingdom.  They  are  assessors  by  His  side. 
Their  aspect  is  not  that  of  the  sweetness  associated 
with  the  word  "  cherub,"  but  that  of  sternness,  indig- 
nant power,  and  judgment.  Thus  also  it  is  that  in 
the  Tabernacle  they  looked  toward  the  mercy-seat.^ 
By  what  they  saw  there  they  were  restrained  from 
executing  wrath  upon  the  guilty.  That  mercy-seat, 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  atonement,  told  them  of 
pardon  and  of  a  new  life  for  the  sinner.  Their  stern- 
ness was  softened  ;  mercy  rejoiced  over  judgment ;  and 
the   storm-wind  upon    which    God  flew  swiftly,  when 

*  Ezek.  i.    13,    14,  *  Chap.   xv.  7. 

*  Chap.   VI.    I,   3,   5,  7.  ■*  Chap.  xix.  4. 

*  Exod.  XXV.  20, 


74  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

"He  rode  upon  a  cherub,  and  did  fly/'^  sank  into  a 
calm. 

The  Seer  has  beheld  the  audience-chamber  of  the 
Godhead  in  itself.  He  has  seen  also  the  Divine  Being 
who  is  there  clothed  with  majesty,  and  those  who  wait 
upon  Him.     He  next  passes  to  another  thought : — 

And  •when  the  living  creatures  shall  give  glory  and  honour  and 
thanks  to  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  to  Him  that  liveth  for  ever 
and  ever,  the  four-and-twenty  elders  shall  fall  down  before  Him  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  shall  v^^orship  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  and 
ever,  and  shall  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne,  saying,  Worthy 
art  Thou,  our  Lord  and  our  God,  to  receive  the  glory  and  the  honour 
and  the  power :  for  Thou  didst  create  all  things,  and  because  of  Thy 
will  they  were,  and  were  created  (iv.  9-II). 

In  his  beautiful  comments  upon  the  Revelation 
Isaac  Williams  says,  *'  The  four  living  creatures,  or 
the  Church  of  the  redeemed,  give  thanksgiving  to 
God  for  their  redemption  ;  and  then  the  twenty-four 
elders  fall  down  and  attribute  all  glory  to  God  alone, 
inasmuch  as  prophets,  Apostles,  and  all  the  ministering 
priesthood,  rejoicing  in  the  salvation  of  the  elect, 
attribute  it  not  to  their  own  instrumentality,  but  to 
God."  ^  In  thus  interpreting  the  passage,  however, 
that,  commentator  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  correct. 
It  is  true  that  the  living  creatures  are  the  representa- 
tives of  redeemed  creation,  and  the  twenty-four  elders 
representatives  of  the  glorified  Church.  But  in  the 
song  of  praise  here  put  into  their  mouths  they  have 
not  yet  advanced  to  the  thought  of  salvation.  That  is 
reserved  for  the  next  chapter.  Here  they  think  of 
creation,  with  all  its  wonders ;  of  the  heavens  which 
declare  God's  glory,  and  the  firmament  which  shows 


*  Ps.  xviii.   10. 

•  The  Apocalypse,  with  Notes  and  Reflections,  p.  69. 


iv.  9-II.]     ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.       75 

forth  His  handiwork  ;  of  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars  in 
their  manifold  and  resplendent  glories  ;  of  the  moun- 
tains and  the  valleys;  of  the  rivers  and  the  fountains  of 
waters ;  of  the  rich  exuberance  of  vegetable  life,  which 
covers  the  earth  with  a  gorgeous  carpet  of  every  hue ; 
and  of  all  those  animals  upon  its  surface  which  '*  run 
races  in  their  mirth  : "  and  for  them  they  praise.  To 
God  all  creatures  owe  their  origin.  In  Him  they  live, 
and  move,  and  have  their  being.  Because  of  His  will 
they  were — let  the  reading  be  considered  and  remem- 
bered :  "  were,"  not  "  are  " — because  of  His  will  they 
were  in  His  idea  from  eternity  ;  and  when  the 
appointed  moment  came,  they  were  created.  Where- 
fore let  them  praise.  We  are  reminded  of  the  Psalms 
of  the  Old  Testament,  though  it  is  ours  to  put  into 
their  words  a  still  deeper  and  richer  meaning  than  they 
possessed  when  first  uttered  by  the  Psalmist  \-~ 

Praise  ye  the  Lord. 

Praise  ye  the  Lord  from  the  heavens : 

Praise  Him  in  the  heights. 

Praise  ye  Him,  all  His  angels : 

Praise  ye  Him,  all  His  host. 

Praise  ye  Him,  sun  and  moon 

Praise  Him,  ail  ye  stars  of  light. 

Praise  Him,  ye  heavens  of  heavens, 

And  ye  waters  that  be  above  the  heavens. 

Let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord : 

For  He  commanded,  and  they  were  created 

He  hath  also  established  them  for  ever  and  ever: 

He  hath  made  a  decree  which  shall  not  pass  away. 

Praise  the  Lord  irom  the  earth, 

Ye  dragons,  and  all  deeps  : 

Fire,  and  hail ;  snow,  and  vapour; 

Stormy  wind  fulfilling  His  word: 

Mountains,  and  all  hills  ; 

Fruitful  trees,  and  all  cedars: 

Beasts,  and  all  cattle  ^ 


76  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

Creeping  things,  and  flying  fowl : 

Kings  of  the  earth,  and  all  peoples  ; 

Princes,  and  all  judges  of  the  earth: 

Both  young  men,  and  maidens ; 

Old  men,  and  children  : 

Let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord : 

For  His  name  alone  is  exalted ; 

His  glory  is  above  the  earth  and  heaven.* 

Such  then  in  chap.  iv.  is  the  call  addressed  by  the 
Seer  to  the  Church  before  she  enters  upon  her  struggle, 
a  call  similar  to  that  of  Jesus  to  His  disciples,  ''  Believe 
in  God." 

The  fifth  chapter  continues  the  same  general  subject, 
but  with  a  reference  to  Christ  the  Redeemer  rather  than 
God  the  Creator  : — 

And  I  saw  in  the  right  hand  of  Him  that  sat  on  the  throne  a  roll  of 
a  book  written  within  and  on  the  back,  close  sealed  with  seven  seals. 
And  I  saw  a  strong  angel  proclaiming  with  a  great  voice,  Who  is 
worthy  to  open  the  roll,  and  to  loose  the  seals  thereof?  And  no  one 
in  the  heaven,  or  on  the  earth,  or  under  the  earth,  was  able  to  open 
the  roll,  or  to  look  thereon.  And  I  wept  much,  because  no  one  was 
found  worthy  to  open  the  roll,  or  to  look  thereon.  And  one  of  the 
elders  saith  unto  me,  Weep  not :  behold,  the  Lion  that  is  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  the  Root  of  David,  hath  overcome  to  open  the  roll,  and  the 
seven  seals  thereof  (v.  1-5). 

We  can  easily  form  to  ourselves  a  correct  idea  of  the 
outward  form  of  the  symbol  resorted  to  in  these  words. 
The  same  symbol  is  used  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  and 
in  circumstances  in  some  respects  precisely  analogous  to 
those  of  the  Seer.  Ezekiel  had  just  beheld  his  first 
vision  of  the  cherubim.  "And  when  I  looked,"  he  says, 
"  behold,  an  hand  was  put  forth  unto  me  ;  and,  lo,  a  roll 
of  a  book  was  therein  ;  and  He  spread  it  before  me  ;  and 
it  was  wTitten  within  and  without."  ^  In  both  cases 
it  i&  not  a  "  book,"  but  a  roll^  like  the  sacred  rolls  of 

*  Ps.  cxlviii.  1-3.  ^  Ezek.  ii.  9,  lo. 


V.  1-5.]       ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.        77 

the  synagogue,  that  is  presented  to  the  prophet's  eye, 
the  difference  being  that  in  the  Apocalypse  we  read 
of  the  roll  being  close  sealed  with  seven  seals.  This 
addition  is  due  to  the  higher,  more  sublime,  and  more 
momentous  nature  of  the  mysteries  contained  in  it. 
That  it  is  written  within  and  on  tlie  back,  so  that  there 
is  no  space  for  further  writing,  shows  that  it  contains 
the  whole  counsel  of  God  with  regard  to  the  subject 
of  which  it  treats.  It  is  the  word  of  Him  who  is  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last ;  and  the 
seven  seals  are  so  fastened  to  the  roll  that  one  of  them 
may  be  broken  at  a  time,  and  no  more  of  the  contents 
disclosed  than  belonged  to  that  particular  seal.  What 
also  the  contents  of  the  roll  are  we  learn  from  the  con- 
tents of  the  seals  as  they  are  successively  disclosed  in 
the  following  chapters.  As  yet  the  Seer  does  not  know 
them.  He  knows  only  that  they  are  of  the  deepest 
interest  and  importance  ;  and  he  looks  anxiously  around 
to  see  if  any  one  can  be  found  who  may  break  the 
seals  and  unfold  their  mysteries.  No  such  person  can 
be  discovered  either  in  heaven,  or  on  the  earth,  or  under 
the  earth.  No  one  will  even  dare  to  look  upon  the  roll ; 
and  the  sorrow  of  the  Seer  was  so  deepened  by  this 
circumstance  that  he  wept  much. 

At  that  moment  one  of  the  elders,  the  representatives 
of  the  glorified  Church,  advanced  to  cheer  him  with 
the  tidings  that  what  he  so  much  desired  shall  be 
accomplished.  One  who  had  had  a  battle  to  fight  and 
a  victory  to  wjn  had  overcome,  not  only  to  look  upon  the 
roll,  but  to  open  it  and  to  loose  the  seven  seals  thereof,  so 
as  to  make  its  contents  known.  This  vv^as  the  Lion  that 
is  of  the  tribe  ofjiidah,  the  Root  of  David.  The  descrip- 
tion is  taken  partly  from  the  lav/  and  partly  from  the 
prophets,  for  is  not  this  "  He  of  whom  Moses  in  the 


78  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

law,  and  the  prophets,  did  write "  ?  ^ ;  the  former  in 
the  blessings  pronounced  by  the  dying  patriarch  Jacob 
upon  his  son  Judah  :  "  Judah  is  a  lion's  whelp  :  from 
the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone  up  :  he  stooped  down, 
he  couched  as  a  lion,  and  as  a  lioness  ;  who  shall  rouse 
him  up  ?"^;  the  latter  in  such  words  as  those  of  Isaiah, 
"And  there  shall  come  forth  a  shoot  out  of  the  stock 
of  Jesse,  and  a  Branch  out  of  his  roots  shall  bear  fruit ;  "^ 
while,  in  the  language  alike  of  the  prophet  and  of  the 
Seer,  the  words  set  forth  the  Messiah,  not  as  the  root  out 
of  which  David  sprang,  but  as  a  shoot  which,  springing 
from  him,  was  to  grow  up  into  a  strong  and  stately 
tree.  In  Him  the  conquering  might  of  David,  the  man 
of  war,  and  of  Judah,  "  chosen  to  be  the  ruler,"  *  comes 
forth  with  all  the  freshness  of  a  new  youth.  He  is 
"  the  mystery  which  hath  been  hid  from  all  ages  and 
generations,  but  now  hath  been  manifested  to  the 
saints."^  In  Him  ''the  darkness  is  passing  away,  and 
the  true  light  already  shineth."  *  "  After  two  days 
will  He  revive  us :  on  the  third  day  He  will  raise 
us  up,  and  we  shall  live  before  Him.  And  let  us  know, 
let  us  follow  on  to  know,  the  Lord  :  His  going  forth 
is  sure  as  the  morning ;  and  He  shall  come  unto  us  as 
the  rain,  as  the  latter  rain  that  watereth  the  earth."  ^ 
Thus  then  was  it  now.  Like  Daniel  of  old,  the  Seer 
had  wept  in  order  that  he  might  understand  the  vision ; 
and  the  elder  said  to  him.  Weep  not. 

The  eagerly  desired  explanation  follows  : — 

And   I  saw  in  the  midst   of  the    throne   and    of  the  four  living 
creatures,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  elders,  a  Lamb  standing  as  though 

*  John  i.  45.  *  I  Chron.  xxviii.  4, 

*  Gen.  xlix.  9.  *  Col.  i.  26. 

*  Isa.  xi.  1.  •  1  John  ii.  8. 

♦  Hos.  vi.  2,  3. 


V.  6,  7-]      ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.        79 

it  had  been  slaughtered,  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes,  which 
are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  sent  forth  into  all  the  earth.  And  He 
came,  and  He  hath  taken  it  out  of  the  right  hand  of  Him  that  sat  on 
the  throne  (v.  6,  7). 

A  Strange  and  unlooked-for  spectacle  is  presented  to 
the  Seer.  He  had  been  told  of  a, lion  ;  and  he  beholds 
a  lamb,  nay  not  only  a  lamb,  the  emblem  of  patience 
and  of  innocence,  but,  as  we  learn  from  the  use  of  the 
word  slaughtered  {YiQ'i  ^'  slain,"  as  in  both  the  Authorised 
and  Revised  Versions),  a  lamb  for  sacrifice,  and  that 
had  been  sacrificed.  Nor  can  we  doubt  for  a  moment, 
when  we  call  to  mind  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  and  its 
many  points  of  analogy  with  the  Apocalypse,  what 
particular  lamb  it  was.  It  was  the  Paschal  Lamb,  the 
Lamb  beheld  in  our  Lord  by  the  Baptist  when,  pointing 
to  Jesus  as  He  walked,  he  said  to  his  disciples,  '*  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God,"  ^  and  again  beheld  by  the 
writer  of  the  fourth  Gospel  on  the  Cross,  when  in  the 
fact  that  the  soldiers  broke  not  the  legs  of  Jesus,  as 
they  broke  those  of  the  malefactors  hanging  on  either 
side  of  Him,  he  traced  the  fulfilment  of  the  Scripture, 
^^  A  bone  of  Him  shall  not  be  broken."  ^  This  therefore 
was  the  true  Lamb  "  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world,"  the  Lamb  that  gives  us  His  flesh  to  eat,  so  that 
in  Him  we  may  have  eternal  life.^ 

The  Lamb  has  seven  horns,  the  emblem  of  perfected 
strength,  and  seven  eyes,  which  are  explained  to  be  the 
Spirit  of  God,  sent  forth  in  all  His  penetrating  and 
searching   power,  so  that  none  even  in  the  very  ends 

'  John  i.  36, 

"  John  xix.  3/5. 

'  The  point  now  spoken  of  has  been  doubted.  A  full  discussion 
cf  it  by  the  pteteut  wiiter  will  be  found  in  The  ExposHor  for  July  and 
Au^u.t,  i£77. 


So  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  the  earth  can  escape  His  knowledge.  Further  the 
Lamb  is  standing  as  though  it  had  been  slaughtered^  and 
there  never  has  been  a  moment's  hesitation  as  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  figure.  The  words  *'  as  though  " 
do  not  mean  that  the  slaughtering  had  been  only  in 
appearance.  It  had  been  real.  The  Saviour,  pierced 
with  cruel  wounds,  ''  bowed  His  head "  on  Calvary, 
"  and  gave  up  His  spirit."  ^  ^'  The  first  and  the  last 
and  the  Living  One  became  dead,"^  and  had  been  laid 
in  the  tomb  in  the  garden.  But  He  had  risen  from 
that  tomb  on  the  third  morning ;  and,  ''  behold.  He  is 
alive  for  evermore."  ^  He  had  ascended  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high ;  and  there  He  ''  stands," 
living  and  acting  in  all  the  plenitude  of  endless  and 
incorruptible  life. 

One  thing  more  has  to  be  noticed  :  that  this  Lamb 
is  the  central  figure  of  the  scene  before  us,  in  the  midst 
of  the  tlirone  and  of  the  living  creatures^  and  of  the  ciders. 
To  Him  all  the  works  of  God,  both  in  creation  and 
redemption,  turn.  To  Him  the  old  covenant  led  ;  and 
the  prophets  who  w^ere  raised  up  under  it  searched 
"  what  time  or  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
\^hich  was  in  them  did  point  unto,  when  it  testified 
beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glories  that 
.should  follow  them."  *  From  Him  the  new  covenant 
flowed,  and  those  who  under  it  are  called  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth  recognise  in  Him  their  "  all  and  in 
all."  ^  The  Lamb  slaughtered,  raised  from  the  grave, 
ascended,  being  the  impersonation  of  that  Divine  love 
which  is  the  essence  of  the  Divine  nature,  is  the  visible 
centre  of  the  universe.     He  is  "the  image  of  the  invisible 

*  John  xix.  30.  '  Chap.  i.  i8. 

2  Chap.  i.  18  *  LPet.  i.  u. 

«  Col.  iii.  II. 


V.8-I0.]     ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.       8i 

God,  the  First-born  of  all  creation  :  for  in  Him  were 
all  things  created,  in  the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth, 
things  visible  and  things  invisible,  whether  thrones, 
or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers  :  all  things 
have  been  created  through  Him,  and  unto  Him  :  and 
He  is  before  all  things,  and  in  Him  all  things  consist. 
And  He  is  the  Head  of  the  Body,  the  Church  :  who  is 
the  Beginning,  the  First-born  from  the  dead ;  that  in  all 
things  He  might  have  the  pre-eminence.  For  it  was 
the  good  pleasure  of  the  Father  that  in  Him  should  all 
the  fulness  dwell ;  and  through  Him  to  reconcile  all 
things  unto  Himself,  having  made  peace  through  the 
blood  of  His  cross  ;  through  Him,  I  say,  whether  things 
upon  the  earth,  or  things  in  the  heavens."  ^ 

Such  is  the  Lamb ;  and  He  now  comes,  and  hath  taken 
the  roll  out  of  the  right  hand  of  Him  that  sat  on  the 
throne.  Let  us  note  the  words  "  hath  taken."  It  is 
not  "  took."  St.  John  sees  the  Lamb  not  only  take  the 
roll,  but  keep  it.  It  is  His, — His  as  the  Son,  in  whom 
dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily ;  His  by 
right  of  the  victory  He  has  won ;  His  as  the  First-born 
of  all  creation  and  the  Head  of  the  Church.  It  is  His 
to  keep,  and  to  unfold,  and  to  execute,  "  who  is  over  all, 
God  blessed  for  ever.     Amen."  ^ 

Therefore  is  He  worthy  of  all  praise,  and  to  Him  all 
praise  is  given  : — 

And  when  He  had  taken  the  book,  the  four  living  creatures  and 
the  four-and-twenty  elders  fell  down  before  the  Lamb,  having  each 
one  a  harp,  and  golden  bowls  full  of  incense,  which  are  the  prayers 
of  the  saints.  And  they  sang  a  new  song,  saying,  Worthy  art  Thou 
to  take  the  book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof:  for  Thou  wast  slain, 
and  didst  purchase  unto  God  with  Thy  blood  men  of  every  tribe,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and  nation  ;  and  madest  them  to  be  unto  our  God 
a  kingdom  and  priests:  and  they  reign  over  the  earth  (v.  8-lo). 

*  Col.  i.  15-20.  2  j^Qjjj_  ij,  ^ 


82  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  figures  that  are 
here  employed,  the  harp,  as  connected  with  the  Temple 
service,  being  the  natural  emblem  of  praise,  and  the 
bowls  full  of  incense  the  emblem  of  pra3'er.  But  it  is  of 
importance  to  observe  the  universality  of  the  praises 
and  the  prayers  referred  to,  for  as  the  language  used  . 
here  of  these  men  of  every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people, 
and  nation,  when  they  are  said  to  have  been  made  a 
kingdcm  and  priests  unto  our  God,  is  the  same  as  that 
of  chap.  i.  6,  we  seem  entitled  to  conclude  that,  even 
from  its  very  earliest  verses,  the  Apocalypse  has  the 
universal  Church  in  view. 

The  song  sung  by  this  great  multitude,  including 
even  the  representatives  of  nature,  now  "  delivered  from 
the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  liberty  of  the  glory 
of  the  children  of  God,"  ^  is  wholly  different  from  that 
of  chap.  iv.  It  is  a  new  song,  for  it  is  the  song  of  the 
"  new  creation ; "  and  its  burden,  it  will  be  observed,  is 
not  creation,  but  redemption  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
a  redemption  through  which  all  partaking  of  it  are 
raised  to  a  higher  glory  and  a  fairer  beauty  than  that 
enjoyed  and  exhibited  before  sin  had  as  yet  entered 
into  the  world,  and  when  God  saw  that  all  that  He  - 
had  made  was  good. 

The  song  was  sung,  but  no  sooner  was  it  sung 
than  it  awoke  a  responsive  strain  from  multitudes  of 
which  we  have  not  yet  heard  : — 

And  I  saw,  and  I  heard  a  voice  of  many  angels  round  about  the 
throne  and  the  living  creatures  and  the  elders:  and  the  number  was 
ten  thousands  of  ten  thousands,  and  thousands  of  thousands;  saying 
with  a  great  voice,  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  hath  been  slam  to  receive 
the  power,  and 'riches,  and  wisdom,  and  might,  and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  blessing  (v.  II,  12). 

*  Rom.  viii.  21. 


V  13-]       ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S  VICTORY.         83 

These  are  the  angels,  who  are  not  within  the  throne, 
but  round  about  the  throne  and  the  four  living  creatures 
and  the  twenty-four  elders.  Their  place  is  not  so  near 
the  throne,  so  near  the  Lamb.  **  For  not  unto  angels 
did  He  subject  the  inhabited  earth  to  come,  whereof  we 
speak."  ^  He  subjected  it  to  man,  to  Him  first  of  all 
who,  having  taken  upon  Him  our  human  nature,  and 
in  that  nature  conquered,  was  '^crowned  with  glory 
and  honour,"  but  then  also  to  the  members  of  His 
Body,  who  shall  in  due  time  be  exalted  to  a  similar 
dignity  and  shall  reigii  over  the  earth.  Yet  angels 
rejoice  with  man  and  with  creation  redeemed  and 
purified.  They  "  desire  to  look  into  "  ^  these  things  : 
"  There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God 
over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  ^  He  who  was  God 
manifested  in  flesh  "  appeared  "  after  His  resurrection 
^'  to  angels  ; "  *  and,  although  they  have  not  been  pur- 
chased with  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered  Lamb,  their 
hearts  are  filled  with  livelier  ecstasy  and  their  voices 
swell  out  into  louder  praise  while  the  ''  manifold  wisdom 
of  God  is  made  known "  to  them  in  their  heavenly 
places.^ 

Even  this  is  not  all.  There  is  a  third  stage  in  the 
ascending  scale,  a  third  circle  formed  for  the  widening 
song  :— 

And  everything  which  is  in  the  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and 
under  the  earth,  and  on  the  sea,  and  all  things  that  are  in  them,  heard 
I  saying,  Unto  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb, 
be  the  blessing,  and  the  honour,  and  the  glory,  and  the  dominion,  for 
ever  and  ever  (v.  13). 

What  a  sublime  conception  have  we  here  before  us  ! 

1  Heb.  ii.  5.  »  Luke  xv.  10. 

*  1  Pet.  i.  12.  ■»  I  jjj^   iii^  1 5^ 

^  Eph.  iii.  10. 


84  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

The  whole  universe,  from  its  remotest  star  to  the  things 
around  us  and  beneath  our  feet,  is  one, — one  in  feehng, 
in  emotion,  in  expression  ;  one  in  heart  and  voice. 
Nothing  is  said  of  evil.  Nor  is  it  thought  of.  It  is  in 
the  hands  of  God,  who  will  work  out  His  sovereign 
purposes  in  His  own  good  time  and  way.  We  have 
only  to  listen  to  the  universal  harmony,  and  to  see  that 
it  move  us  to  corresponding  praise. 
It  did  so  now  : — • 

And  the  four  living  creatures  said,  Amen.  And  the  elders  fell 
down  and  worshipped  (v.  14). 

The  redeemed  creation  is  once  more  singled  out  for 
special  mention.  At  chap.  iv.  8,  10,  they  began  the 
song;  now  we  return  to  them  that  they  may  close  it. 
All  creation,  man  included,  cries.  Amen.  The  glorified 
Church  has  her  heart  too  full  to  speak.  She  can  only 
fall  down  and  worship. 

The  distinction  between  chap.  iv.  and  chap.  v.  must 
now  be  obvious,  even  while  it  is  allowed  that  the  same 
general  thought  is  at  the  bottom  of  both  chapters.  In 
the  one  the  Church  when  about  to  enter  on  her  struggle 
has  the  call  addressed  to  her :  '*  Believe  in  God."  In 
the  other  that  call  is  followed  up  by  the  glorified 
Redeemer  :  "  Believe  also  in  Me." 

Having  listened  to  th^  call,  there  is  no  enemy  that 
she  need  fear,  and  no  trial  from  which  she  need  shrink. 
She  is  already  more  than  conqueror  through  Him  that 
loved  her.  As  we  enter  into  the  spirit  of  these  chapters 
we  cry, — 

"  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength, 
A  very  present  help  in  trouble. 

Therefore  will  we  not  fear,  though  the  earth  do  change^ 
And  though  the  mountains  be  moved  in  the  heart  of  the  seas ; 


V.  14.]        ANTICIPATIONS  OF  CHURCH'S   VICTORY.        85 

Though  the  waters  thereof  roar  and  be  troubled, 
Though  the  mountains  shake  with  the  swelhng  thereof. 
There  is  a  river,  the  streams  whereof  make  glad  the  city  of 

God, 
The  holy  place  of  the  tabernacles  of  the  Most  High. 
God  is  in  the  midst  of  her ;  she  shall  not  be  moved : 
God  shall  help  her,  and  that  right  early. 
The  nations  raged,  the  kingdoms  were  moved: 
He  uttered  His  voice,  the  earth  melted. 
The  Lord  ol  hosts  is  with  us  ; 
The  God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge."  ^ 

*  Ps.  xlvi.  1-7. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED* 
Rev.  vi. 

WITH  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse  the 
main  action  of  the  book  may  be  said  properly 
to  begin.  Three  sections  of  the  seven  into  which  it 
is  divided  have  already  passed  under  our  notice.  The 
fourth  section,  extending  from  chap.  vi.  I  to  chap, 
xviii.  24,  is  intended  to  bring  before  us  the  struggle  of 
the  Church,  the  judgment  of  God  upon  her  enemies, 
and  her  final  victory.  No  detail  of  historical  events  in 
which  these  things  are  fulfilled  need  be  looked  for. 
We  are  to  be  directed  rather  to  the  sources  whence  the 
trials  spring,  and  to  the  principles  by  which  the  victory 
is  gained.  At  this  point  in  the  unfolding  of  the  visions 
it  is  generally  thought  that  there  is  a  pause,  an  interval 
of  quietness  however  brief,  and  a  hush  of  expectation 
on  the  part  both  of  the  Seer  himself  and  of  all  the 
heavenly  witnesses  of  the  wondrous  drama.  But  there 
seems  to  be  no  foundation  for  such  an  "impression 
in  the  text ;  and  it  is  more  in  keeping  alike  with  the 
language  of  this  particular  passage  and  with  the  general 
probabilities  of  the  case  to  imagine  that  the  "  lightnings 
and  voices  and  thunders,"  spoken  of  in  chap.  iv.  5  as 
proceeding  out  of  the  throne,  continue  to  re-echo  over 
the  scene,  filling  the  hearts  of  the  spectators  with  that 
sense  of  awe  which  they  are  naturally  fitted  to  awaken. 


vi.  I.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPE.YED.  87 

We  have  to  meet  the  Lord  in  judgment.  We  are  to 
behold  the  Lamb  as  "  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  ;  " 
and  when  He  so  appears,  "  the  mountains  flow  down 
at  His  presence."^ 

The  Lamb  then,  who  had,  in  the  previous  chapter, 
taken  the  book  out  of  the  hand  of  Him  that  sat  upon 
the  throne,  is  now  to  open  it,  part  by  part,  seal  by 
seal : — 

And  I  saw  when  the  Lamb  opened  one  of  the  seven  seals,  and  I 
heard  one  of  the  four  living  creatures  saying  as  with  a  voice  of 
thunder,  Come  (vi.  i). 

Particular  attention  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  fact  that 
the  true  reading  of  the  last  clause  of  this  verse  is  not, 
as  in  the  Authorised  Version,  "  Come  and  see,"  but 
simply,  as  in  the  Revised  Version,  Come.  The  call  is 
not  addressed  to  the  Seer,  but  to  the  Lord  Himself; 
and  it  is  uttered  by  one  of  the  four  living  creatures 
spoken  of  in  chap.  iv.  6,  who  are  "  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  and  round  about  the  throne,"  and  who  in  ver.  8 
of  the  same  chapter  are  the  first  to  raise  the  song  from 
which  they  never  rest,  saying,  '^  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the 
Lord,  God,  the  Almighty,  which  was  and  which  is  and 
which  is  to  come."  The  word  Come  therefore  embodies 
the  longing  of  redeemed  creation  that  the  Lord,  for 
the  completion  of  whose  work  it  waits,  will  take  to 
Him  His  great  power  and  reign.  Not  so  much  for  the 
perfecting  of  its  ow^n  happiness,  or  for  dehverance  from 
the  various  troubles  by  which  it  is  as  yet  beset,  and 
not  so  much  for  the  manifestation  of  its  Lord  in  His 
abounding  mercy  to  His  own,  does  the  creation  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  corruption  wait,  as  for  the  moment 
w^hen    Christ  shall  appear   in  awful   majesty.   King  of 

'  Isa.  Ixiv,  I. 


88  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  when  He  shall  banish  for 
ever  from  the  earth  the  sin  by  which  it  is  polluted,  and 
when  He  shall  establish,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to 
the  going  down  of  the  same.  His  glorious  kingdom  of 
righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

This  prospect  is  inseparably  associated  with  the 
Second  Coming  of  Him  who  is  now  concealed  from  our 
view ;  and  therefore  the  cry  of  the  whole  waiting 
creation,  whether  animate  or  inanimate,  to  its  Lord  is 
Come.  The  cry,  too,  and  that  not  only  in  the  case  of 
the  first  living  creature,  but  (according  to  a  rule  of 
interpretation  of  which  in  this  book  we  shall  often 
have  to  make  use)  in  the  case  of  the  three  that  follow, 
is  uttered  with  a  voice  of  thunder;  and  thunder  is  always 
an  accompaniment  and  symbol  of  the  Divine  judg- 
ments. 

No  sooner  is  the  cry  heard  than  it  is  answered : — ■ 

And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  white  horse :  and  he  that  sat  thereon 
had  a  bow ;  and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  crown  :  and  he  came 
forth  conquering,  and  to  conquer  (vi,  2). 

Few  figures  of  the  Apocatypse  have  occasioned  more 
trouble  to  interpreters  than  that  contained  in  these 
words.  On  the  one  hand,  the  particulars  seem  unmis- 
takeably  to  point  to  the  Lord  Himself ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  the  first  rider  be  the  glorified  Redeemer, 
it  is  dif^cult  to  establish  that  harmonious  parallelism 
with  the  following  riders  which  appears  to  be  required 
by  the  well-ordered  arrangement  of  the  visions  of  this 
book.  Yet  it  is  clearly  impossible  to  regard  the  first 
rider  as  merely  a  symbol  of  war,  for  the  second  rider 
would  then  convey  the  same  lesson  as  the  first ;  nor  is 
there  anything  in  the  text  to  establish  a  distinction, 
frequently  resorted  to,  b}^  which  the  first  rider  is 
thought  to  denote  foreign,  and  the  second  civil,  war. 


vi.  2.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL    OPENED.  89 


Every  attempt  also  to  separate  the  white  horse  of  this 
vision  from  that  of  the  vision  at  chap.  xix.  1 1  fails,  and 
must  fail.  Probably  it  is  enough  to  say  that  not  one  of 
the  four  riders  is  a  person.  Each  is  rather  a  cause, 
a  manifestation  of  certain  truths  connected  with  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  when  that  kingdom  is  seen  to  be, 
in  its  own  nature,  the  judgment  of  the  world.  Even 
war,  famine,  and  death  and  Hades,  which  follow,  are 
not  literally  these  things.  They  are  simply  used,  as 
scourges  of  mankind,  to  give  general  expression  to  the 
judgments  of  God.  Thus  also  under  the  first  rider  the 
cause  rather  than  the  person  of  Christ  is  introduced 
to  us,  in  the  earliest  stage  of  its  victorious  progress, 
and  with  the  promise  of  its  future  triumph.  The 
various  points  of  the  description  hardly  need  to  be 
explained.  The  colour  of  the  horse  is  white,  for 
throughout  these  visions  that  colour  is  always  the 
symbol  of  heavenly  purity.  The  rider  has  a  crown 
given  him,  a  crown  of  royalty.  He  has  in  his  hand 
a  bow,  the  instrument  of  war  by  which  he  scatters 
his  enemies  like  stubble.-^  Finally,  he  conies  forth 
conquering  and  to  conquer,  for  his  victorious  march 
knows  no  interruption,  and  at  last  leaves  no  foe  unvan- 
quished.  In  the  first  rider  we  have  thus  the  cause  or 
Christ  in  its  essence,  as  that  cause  of  light  which, 
having  already  drawn  to  it  the  sons  of  light,  has 
become  darkness  to  the  sons  of  darkness.  By  the 
opening  of  the  first  Seal  we  learn  that  this  cause  is  in 
the  world,  that  this  kingdom  is  in  the  midst  of  us,  and 
that  they  who  oppose  it  shall  be  overwhelmed  with 
defeat. 

The  interpretation   now  given   of  the  first  rider  as 


'  Isa,   xli.  2, 


90  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

one  who  rides  forth  to  judgment  on  a  sinful  world  is 
confirmed  by  what  is  said  of  the  three  that  follow  him. 
In  them  too  we  have  judgment,  and  judgment  only, 
while  the  three  judgments  spoken  of^ — war,  famine,  and 
death — are  precisely  those  with  which  the  prophets  in 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  Saviour  Himself  in  the 
New  have  familiarised  our  thoughts.^  They  are  not 
to  be  literally  understood.  Like  all  else  in  the  visions 
of  St.  John,  they  are  used  symbolically ;  and  each  of 
them  expresses  in  a  general  form  the  calamities  and 
woes,  the  misfortunes  and  sorrows,  brought  by  sinful 
men  upon  themselves  through  rejection  of  their  right- 
ful King. 

The  second  Seal  is  now  broken,  and  the  second  rider 
follows : — 

And  when  He  opened  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the  second  living 
creature  saying,  Come.  And  another  horse  came  forth,  a  red  horse  : 
and  to  him  that  sat  thereon  it  was  given  to  take  peace  from  the  earth, 
and  that  they  should  slaughter  one  another  :  and  there  was  given  unto 
him  a  great  sword  (vi.  3,  4). 

The  second  horse  is  red,  the  colour  of  blood,  for  it 
is  the  horse  of  war  :  and  slaughter  follows  it  as  its  rider 
passes  over  the  earth ;  that  is,  not  over  the  earth  in 
general,  but  over  the  ungodly.  Two  things  in  this 
vision  are  particularly  worthy  of  notice.  In  the  first 
place,  the  war  spoken  of  is  not  between  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked,  but  among  the  wicked  alone.  The 
wicked  slaughter  one  another.  All  persons  engaged  in 
these  internecine  conflicts  have  cast  aside  the  offers  of 
the  Prince  of  peace ;  and,  at  enmity  with  Him  who  is 
the  only  true  foundation  of  human  brotherhood,  they 
are  also  at  enmity  among  themselves.    Of  the  righteous 

>  Ezek.  vi.   1 1  :  Matt.  xxiv.  6-8. 


vi.5,6.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL    OPENED.  91 

nothing  is  yet  said.  We  are  left  to  infer  that  they  are 
safe  in  their  dwelHngs,  in  peaceable  habitations,  and 
in  quiet  resting-places.^  By-and-by  we  shall  learn  that 
they  are  not  only  safe,  but  surrounded  with  joy  and 
plenty.  In  the  second  place,  the  original  word  trans- 
lated ''slay"  both  in  the  Authorised  and  Revised 
Versions  deserves  attention.  It  is  a  sacrificial  term, 
the  same  as  that  found  in  chap.  v.  6,  where  we  read 
of  the  ''  slaughtered  Lamb  ;  "  and  here  therefore,  as 
there,  it  ought  to  be  rendered,  not  *'  slay,"  but 
"  slaughter."  The  instant  we  so  translate,  the  whole 
picture  rises  before  our  view  in  a  light  entirely  different 
from  that  in  which  we  commonly  regard  it.  What 
judgment,  nay  what  irony  of  judgment,  is  there  in  the 
ways  of  God  when  He  visits  sinners  with  the  terrors 
of  His  wrath  !  The  very  fate  which  men  shrink  from 
accepting  in  the  form  of  a  blessing  overtakes  them  in 
the  form  of  a  curse.  They  think  to  save  their  life,  and 
they  lose  it.  They  seek  to  avoid  that  sacrifice  of  them- 
selves which,  made  in  Christ,  lies  at  the  root  of  the 
true  accomplishment  of  human  destiny ;  and  they  are 
constrained  to  substitute  for  it  a  sacrifice  of  an  altogether 
different  kind :  they  sacrifice,  they  slaughter,  one 
another. 

The  third  Seal  is  now  broken,  and  the  third  rider 
follows  : — 

And  when  He  opened  the  third  seal,  I  heard  the  third  living 
creature  saying,  Come.  And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  black  horse;  and 
he  that  sat  thereon  had  a  balance  in  his  hand.  And  I  heard  as  it 
were  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four  living  creatures,  saying, 
A  measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny  (or  a  silver  penny),  and  three 
measures  of  barley  for  a  penny ;  and  the  oil  and  the  wine  hurt  thou 
not  (vi.  5,  6). 

'  Isa.  xxxii.  18. 


92  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

The  third  living  creature  cries  as  the  two  before  it 
had  done  ;  and  a  third  horse  comes  forth,  the  colour  of 
which  is  black,  the  colour  of  gloom  and  mourning  and 
lamentation.  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  this 
condition  of  things  is  produced  by  scarcity,  for  the 
figure  of  the  balance  and  of  measuring  bread  by  weight 
is  on  different  occasions  employed  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment to  express  the  idea  of  famine.  Thus  among 
the  threatenings  denounced  upon  Israel  should  it  prove 
faithless  to  God's  covenant  we  read,  "And  when  I 
have  broken  the  staff  of  your  bread,  ten  women  shall 
bake  your  bread  in  one  oven,  and  they  shall  deliver 
you  your  bread  again  by  weight :  and  ye  shall  eat,  and 
not  be  satisfied."  ^  And  so  also  when  Ezekiel  would 
describe  the  miseries  of  the  coming  siege  of  Jerusalem 
he  exclaims,  '*  Moreover  He  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man, 
behold,  I  will  break  the  staff  of  bread  in  Jerusalem  : 
and  they  shall  eat  bread  by  weight,  and  with  care ;  and 
they  shall  drink  water  by  measure,  and  with  astonish- 
ment :  that  they  may  want  bread  and  water,  and  be 
astonied  one  with  another,  and  consume  away  for  their 
iniquity."  ^  To  give  out  corn  by  weight  instead  of 
measure  was  thus  an  emblem  of  scarcity.  The  particu- 
lars of  the  scarcity  here  described  are  obscured  to  the 
English  reader  by  the  unfortunate  translation,  both  in 
this  passage  and  elsewhere,  and  in  the  Revised  as  well 
as  the  Authorised  Version,  of  the  Greek  denarius  by 
the  English  penny.  That  coin  was  of  the  value  of  fully, 
eightpence  of  our  money,  and  was  the  recognised  pay- 
ment of  a  labourer's  full  day's  work.^  In  ordinary 
circumstances  it  was  sufficient  to  purchase  eight  of  the 
small  "measures"    now  referred  to,  so  that  when  it 


Lev.  xxvi.  26.         '^  E^ek.  iv.  16,  17.         ^  Ccmp.  Matt.  xx.2. 


vi.5,6.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED.  93 

could  buy  one  '^measure"  only,  the  quantity  needed 
by  a  single  man  for  his  own  daily  food,  it  is  implied 
that  wheat  had  risen  eight  times  in  price,  and  that  all 
that  could  be  purchased  by  means  of  a  whole  day's  toil 
would  suffice  for  no  more  than  one  individual's  sus- 
tenance, leaving  nothing  for  his  other  wants  and  the 
wants  of  his  family.  No  doubt  three  measures  of  barley 
could  be  purchased  for  the  same  sum,  but  barley  was 
a  coarser  grain,  and  to  be  dependent  upon  it  was  in 
itself  a  proof  that  there  was  famine  in  the  land.  Again, 
as  in  the  previous  judgment,  the  words  of  the  figure 
are  not  to  be  literally  understood.  What  we  have 
before  us  is  not  famine  in  its  strict  sense,  but  the 
judgment  of  God  under  the  form  of  famine  ;  and  this 
second  judgment  is  climactic  to  the  first.  Men  say  to 
themselves  that  they  will  live  at  peace  with  one 
another,  and  sow,  and  reap,  and  plant  vineyards,  and 
eat  the  fruit  thereof.  But  in  doing  this  they  are 
mastered  by  the  power  of  selfishness;  the  too  eager 
pursuit  of  earthly  interests  defeats  its  end  ;  and,  under 
the  influence  of  deeper  and  more  mysterious  laws  than 
the  mere  political  economist  can  discover,  fields  that 
might  have  been  covered  with  golden  harvests  lie 
desolate  and  bare. 

Nothing  has  yet  been  said  of  the  last  clause  of  this 
judgment :  The  oil  and  the  wine  hurt  thou  not.  The 
words  are  generally  regarded  as  a  limitation  of  the 
severity  of  the  famine  previously  described,  and  as  a 
promise  that  even  in  judging  God  will  not  execute 
all  His  wrath.  The  interpretation  can  hardly  be 
accepted.  Not  only  does  it  weaken  the  force  of  the 
threatening,  but  the  meaning  thus  given  to  the  figure 
is  entirely  out  of  place.  Oil  and  wine  were  for  the 
mansions  of  the  rich,  not  for  the  habitations  of  the 


94  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

poor,  for  the  feast  and  not  for  the  supply  of  the  common 
wants  of  life.  Nor  would  a  sufferer  from  famine  have 
found  in  them  a  substitute  for  bread.  The  meaning 
of  the  words  therefore  must  be  looked  for  in  a  wholly 
different  direction.  ''Thou  preparest  a  table  before 
me/'  says  the  Psalmist,  ''in  the  presence  of  mine 
enemies  :  Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil ;  my  cup 
runneth  over."  ^  This  is  the  table  the  supply  of  which 
is  now  alluded  to.  It  is  prepared  for  the  righteous 
in  the  midst  of  the  struggles  of  the  world,  and  in  the 
presence  of  their  enemies.  Oil  is  there  in  abundance 
to  anoint  the  heads  of  the  happy  guests,  and  their  cups 
are  so  filled  with  plenty  that  they  run  over.  In  the 
words  under  consideration,  accordingly,  we  have  no 
limitation  of  the  effects  of  famine.  The  "  wine  "  and 
the  "oil"  alluded  to  express  not  so  much  what  is 
simply  required  for  life  as  the  plenty  and  the  joy  of 
life ;  and,  thus  interpreted,  they  are  a  figure  of  the  care 
with  which  God  watches  over  His  own  people  and 
supplies  all  their  wants.  While  His  judgments  are 
abroad  in  the  earth  they  are  protected  in  the  hollow 
of  His  hand.  He  has  taken  them  into  His  banqueting 
house,  and  His  banner  over  them  i.?.  love.  The  world 
may  be  hungry,  but  they  are  fed.  As  the  children  of 
Israel  had  light  in  their  dwelHngs  while  the  land  of 
Egypt  lay  in  darkness,  so  while  the  world  famishes  the 
followers  of  Jesus  have  all  and  more  than  all  that  they 
require.  They  have  "life,  and  that  abundantly."^ 
Thus  we  learn  the  condition  of  the  children  of  God 
during  the  trials  spoken  of  in  these  visions.  Under 
the  second  Seal  we  could  only  infer  from  the  general 
analogy  of  this  book  that  they  were  safe.     Now  we 


Ps.  xxiii.  5.  ^  John  x.  10. 


vi.7,8.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED.  95 

know  that  they  are  not  only  safe,  but  that  they  are 
enriched  with  every  blessing.  They  have  oil  that 
makes  the  face  of  man  to  shine,  and  bread  that 
strengtheneth  his  heart.-^ 

The  fourth  Seal  is  now  broken,  and  the  fourth  rider 
follows : — 

And  when  He  opened  the  fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice  of  the 
fourth  living  creature  saying,  Come.  And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  pale 
horse  :  and  he  that  sat  upon  him,  his  name  was  Death ;  and  Hades 
followed  with  him.  And  there  was  given  unto  them  authority  over 
the  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  with  sword,  and  with  famine,  and 
with  death,  and  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the  earth  (vi.  7,  8). 

The  colour  of  the  fourth  horse  is  pale;  it  has  the 
livid  colour  of  a  corpse,  corresponding  to  its  rider, 
whose  name,  Death,  is  in  this  case  given.  Hades 
followed  with  him,  not  after  him,  thus  showing  that  a 
gloomy  and  dark  region  beyond  the  grave  is  his 
inseparable  attendant,  and  that  it  too  is  an  instrument 

^'  of  God's  wrath.  In  chap.  i.  18  these  two  dire  com- 
panions had  also  been  associated  with  one  another; 
and  it  is  important  to  notice  the  combination,  as  the 
fact  will  afterwards  throw  light  upon  one  of  the  most 
difficult  visions  of  the  book.  "  Death  "  is  not  neutral 
death,  that  separation  between  soul  and  body  which 
awaits  every  individual  of  the  human  family  until  the 
Saviour  comes.  It  is  death  in  the  deeper  meaning 
which  it  so  often  bears  in  Scripture,  and  especially  in 
the  writings  of  St.  John, — death  as  judgment.  In  like 
manner  Hades  is  not  the  neutral  grave  where  the  rich 
and  the  poor  meet  together,  where  the  wicked  cease 

\from  troubling,  and  where  the  weary  are  at  rest.  It  is 
the  region  occupied  by  those  who  have  not  found  life 

>  Ps.  civ.  15. 


96  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

in  Christ ;  and,  not  less  than  death,  it  is  judgment. 
"  Death  "  and  "  Hades  "  then  are  the  culminating 
judgments  of  God  upon  the  earth,  that  is,  upon  the 
wicked  ;  and  they  execute  their  mission  in  a  fourfold 
manner :  by  the  sivord,  and  famine,  and  death,  and  the 
wihi  beasts  of  the  earth.  The  world,  the  symbolical 
number  of  which  is  four,  instead  of  blessing  such  as 
submit  themselves  to  its  sway,  turns  round  upon  them 
w^ith  all  the  powers  at  its  command  and  kills  them. 
The  wicked  "  are  sunk  down  in  the  pit  that  they  made : 
in  the  net  which  they  hid  is  their  own  foot  taken." ^ 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  why  authority  is  given  death 
and  Hades  over  no  more  than  the  fourth  part  of  the 
earth,  when  we  might  rather  have  expected  that  their 
dominion  would  be  extended  over  the  whole.  The 
question  may  be  asked  whether  it  is  possible  so  to 
understand  the  Seer  as  to  connect  a  "fourth  part"  of 
the  earth,  not  with  all  the  instruments  together,  but 
with  each  separate  instrument  of  judgment  afterwards 
named — one  fourth  to  be  killed  with  the  sword,  a 
second  with  famine,  a  third  with  death,  and  a  fourth 
by  wild  beasts.  Should  such  an  idea  be  regarded 
as  untenable,  the  probability  is  that  a  fourth  part  is 
mentioned  in  order  to  make  room  for  the  climactic  rise 
to  a  "  third  part "  afterwards  met  under  the  trumpet 
judgments. 

The  end  of  the  first  four  Seals  has  now  been  reached, 
and  at  this  point  there  is  an  obvious  break  in  the 
hitherto  harmonious  progress  of  the  visions.  No  fifth 
rider  appears  when  the  fifth  Seal  is  broken,  and  we 
pass  from  the  material  into  the  spiritual,  from  the 
visible  into  the  invisible,  world.     That  the  transition  is 

^  Ps.  ix.  15. 


vi.9-ii.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED.  97 

not  accidental,  but  deliberately  made,  appears  from  this, 
that  the  very  same  principle  of  division  marks  the  series 
of  the  trumpets  at  chap.  ix.  I,  and  of  the  bowls  at  chap, 
xvi.  10.  We  have  thus  the  number  seven  divided  into 
its  two  parts  four  and  three,  while  in  chaps,  ii.  and  iii. 
we  had  it  divided  into  three  and  four.  The  difference 
is  easily  accounted  for,  three  being  the  number  of  God, 
or  the  Divine,  and  therefore  taking  precedence  when  we 
are  concerned  with  the  existence  of  the  Church,  four 
being  the  number  of  the  world,  and  therefore  coming 
first  when  judgment  on  the  world  is  described.  It  is 
of  more  consequence,  however,  to  note  the  fact  than  to 
explain  it,  for  it  helps  in  no  small  degree  to  illustrate 
that  artificial  structure  of  the  Apocalypse  which  is  so 
completely  at  variance  with  the  supposition  that  it 
describes  in  its  successive  paragraphs  the  successive 
historical  events  of  the  Christian  age. 

Passing  then  into  a  different  region  of  thought,  the 
fifth  Seal  is  now  broken  : — 

And  when  He  opened  the  fifth  seal,  I  saw  underneath  the  altar 
the  souls  of  them  that  had  been  slaughtered  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  for  the  testimony  which  they  held  :  and  they  cried  with  a  great 
voice,  saying,  How  long,  O  Master,  the  holy  and  true,  dost  Thou  not 
judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?  And 
there  was  given  them  to  each  one  a  white  robe ;  and  it  was  said 
unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  time,  until  their 
fellow-servants  also  and  their  brethren,  which  should  be  killed  even 
as  they  were,  should  be  fulfilled  (vi.  9-1 1). 

The  vision  contained  in  these  words  is  unquestion- 
ably a  crucial  one  for  the  interpretation  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, and  it  w^ill  be  necessary  to  dwell  upon  it  for  a 
little.  The  miner  details  may  be  easily  disposed  of. 
By  the  consent  of  all  commentators  of  note,  the  aliar 
referred  to  is  the  brazen  altar  of  sacrifice,  which  stood 
in    the  outer  court    both    of   the    Tabernacle    and  the 

; 


98  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

Temple  ;  the  souls,  or  lives,  seen  under  it  are  probably 
seen  under  the  form  of  blood,  for  the  blood  was  the 
life  :  and  the  law  of  Moses  commanded  that  when 
animals  were  sacrificed  the  blood  should  be  poured 
out  "  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offering,  which 
is  before  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  ;"^  while 
the  little  time  mentioned  in  ver.  ii  can  mean  nothing 
else  than  the  interval  between  the  moment  when  the 
souls  were  spoken  to  and  that  when  the  killing  of  their 
brethren  should  be  brought  to  a  close. 

The  main  question  to  be  answered  is,  Whom  do 
these  **  souls  "  represent  ?  Are  they  Christian  martyrs, 
suffering  perhaps  at  the  hands  of  the  Jews  before  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  perhaps  at  the  hands  of  the  world 
to  the  end  of  time  ?  Or  are  they  the  martyrs  of 
the  Old  Testament  dispensation,  Jewish  martyrs,  who 
had  lived  and  died  in  faith  ?  Both  suppositions  have 
been  entertained,  though  the  former  has  been,  and  still 
is,  that  almost  universally  adopted.  Yet  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  latter  is  correct,  and  that  several 
important  particulars  of  the  passage  demand  its  ac- 
ceptance. 

I.  Let  us  observe  how  these  martyrs  are  designated. 
They  had  been  slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the 
testimony  which  they  held.  But  that  is  not  the  full 
expression  of  Christian  testimony.  As  we  read  in 
many  other  passages  of  the  book  before  us.  Christians 
have  "the  testimony  of  Jesus  ^'^  The  addition  needed 
to  bring  out  the  Christian  character  of  the  testimony 
referred  to  is  wanting  here.  No  doubt  the  saints  of 
old  looked  forward  to  the  coming  of  the  Christ ;  but  the 
testimony    "of  Jesus"   is  the  testimony  pertaining  to 

'  Lev.  iv.  7. 

•  Comp.  chaps,  i.  2  9 ;  xi.  7;  xii.  II,  17;  xix.  lO, 


vi.9-ii.]     THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED. 


99 


Him  as  a  Saviour  come,  in  all  the  glory  of  His  person 
:and  in  all  the  completeness  of  His  work.  .It  is  a 
testimony  embracing  a  full  knowledge  of  the  Messiah  ; 
and  the  inference  is  natural  and  legitimate  that  it  is 
not  ascribed  to  the  souls  under  the  altar,  because  they 
neither  had  nor  could  have  possessed  it. 

2.  The  cry  of  these  "  souls "  is  worthy  of  notice, 
How  long,  O  Master,  the  holy  and  the  true,  where  the 
word  ''  Master,"  applied  also  in  Acts  iv.  24  and  Jude  4^ 
to  God  as  distinguished  from  Christ,  corresponds 
better  to  the  spirit  of  the  Old  than  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment dispensation. 

3.  The  time  at  which  the  martyrs  had  been  killed 
belongs  not  to  the  present  or  the  future,  but  to  the  past. 
Like  all  the  other  Seals,  the  fifth  is  opened  at  the  very 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era;  and  no  sooner  is  it 
opened  than  the  souls  are  seen.  It  is  true  that  the  Seer 
might  be  supposed  to  transport  himself  forward  into 
the  future,  and,  at  some  point  of  Christian  history 
more  or  less  distant,  to  console  Christian  martyrs  who 
had  already  fallen  with  the  assurance  that  they  had 
only  to  wait  a  little  time,  until  such  as  were  to  be 
their  later  companions  in  martyrdom  should  have  shared 
their  fate.  But  such  a  supposition  is  inconsistent  with 
the  fact  that  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse  always  thinks 
of  the  Christian  age  as  one  hardly  capable  of  being 
divided  ;  while,  as  we  shall  immediately  see  more 
clearl}^  it  would  make  it  impossible  to  explain  the 
ccnsolaticn  afforded  by  the  bestowal  of  the  white  robe. 

4.  The  altar  under  which  the  blood  is  seen  may  help 
to  confirm  this  conclusion,  for  that  blood  is  not  preserved 
in  the  inner  sanctuary,  in  that  "  heaven"  which  is  the 

'  Margin  of  Revised  Version, 


loo  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

ideal  home  of  all  the  disciples  of  Jesus :  it  lies  beneath 
the  altar  of  the  outer  court. 

5.  The  main  argument,  however,  in  favour  of  the 
view  now  contended  for,  is  to  be  found  in  the  act  by 
which  these  souls  were  comforted  :  And  there  ivas  given 
them  to  each  one  a  white  robe.  The  white  robe,  then, 
they  had  not  obtained  before  ;  and  yet  that  robe  belongs 
during  his  life  on  earth  to  every  follower  of  Christ. 
Nothing  is  more  frequently  spoken  of  in  these  visions 
than  the  "  white  robe "  of  the  redeemed,  and  it  is 
obviously  theirs  from  the  first  moment  when  they  are 
united  to  their  Lord.  It  is  the  robe  of  the  priesthood, 
and  at  their  very  entrance  upon  true  spiritual  life  they 
are  priests  in  Him.  It  is  the  robe  with  which  the 
faithful  remnant  in  Sardis  had  been  arrayed  before  they 
are  introduced  to  us,  for  they  had  not  "  defiled  "  it ;  and 
the  emphasis  in  the  promise  there  given,  ''They  shall 
walk  with  Me  in  white,"  appears  to  lie  upon  its  first 
rather  than  its  second  clause.^  Again,  the  promise  to 
every  one  in  that  church  that  "  overcometh"  is  that  he 
'*  shall  be  arrayed  in  white  garments ; "  ^  and  it  is  beyond 
dispute  that  the  promises  of  the  seven  epistles  belong 
to  the  victory  of  faith  gained  in  this  world,  not  less 
than  to  the  perfected  reward  of  victory  in  the  world  to 
come.  In  like  manner  the  Laodicean  church  is  ex- 
horted to  buy  of  her  Lord  "  white  garments  "  that  she 
may  be  clothed,  as  well  as  "gold"  that  she  may  be 
enriched,  and  ''  eyesalve  "  that  she  may  see  ^ ;  and,  as 
the  two  latter  purchases  refer  to  her  present  state,  so 
also  must  the  former.  When,  too,  the  Lord  is  united 
in  marriage  to  His  Church,  it  is  said  that  "  it  was  given 
unto  her  that  she  should  array  herself  in  "  fine  linen, 

*  Chap.  iii.  4v  -  Chap.  iii.  5.  .  ^  Chap,  iii.  18. 


vi.9-ii.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED,  loi 

bright  and  pure  ; "  and  that  fine  linen  is  immediately 
explained  to  be  "  the  righteous  acts  of  the  saints."  ^ 
Putting  all  these  passages  together,  we  are  distinctly 
taught  that  in  the  language  of  the  Apocalypse  the  "  white 
robe  "  denotes  that  perfect  righteousness  of  Christ;  both 
external  and  internal,  which  is  bestowed  upon  the  be- 
liever from  the  moment  when  he  is  by  faith  made  one 
with  Jesus.  It  is  that  more  perfect  justification  of  which 
St.  Paul  spoke  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia  when  he  said  to 
the  Jews,  "  By  Him  every  one  that  believeth  is  justified 
from  all  things,  from  which  3^e  could  not  be  justified  by 
the  law  of  Moses." ^  It  had  been  longed  for  by  the 
saints  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  had  never  been  fully 
bestowed  upon  them  until  Jesus  came.  David  had  prayed 
for  it :  "  Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be  clean  : 
wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow;"^  Isaiah 
had  anticipated  it  when  he  looked  forward  to  the  accept- 
able year  of  the  Lord  :  "  I  will  greatly  rejoice  in  the 
Lord,  my  soul  shall  be  joyful  in  my  God  ;  for  He  hath 
clothed  me  with  the  garments  of  salvation,  He  hath 
covered  me  with  the  robe  of  righteousness,  as  a  bride- 
groom decketh  himself  with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride 
adorneth  herself  with  her  jewels  ;  "  *  and  Ezekiel  had 
celebrated  it  as  the  chief  blessing  of  Gospel  times  : 
"  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  clean  :  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your 
idols,  will  I  cleanse  you.  .  .  .  And  ye  shall  be  My  people, 
and  I  will  be  your  God.  I  will  also  save  you  from 
all  your  uncleannesses."  ^  But  while  thus  prayed  for, 
anticipated,  and  greeted  from  afar,  the  fulness  of  blessing 
belonging  to  the  New  Testament  had  not  been  actually 

1  Chap.  xix.  8.  »  Ps.  li.  7. 

*  Acts  xiii.  39.  *  Isa.  Ixi.  10, 

*  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25-29. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


received  under  the  Old.  "  He  that  is  but  little  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than  John."  ^  As  we 
are  tauglit  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  even  Abel, 
Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses,  and  all 
those  heroes  of  faith  who  had  subdued  kingdoms, 
wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the 
mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the  power  of  fire,  escaped 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  from  weakness  were  made  strong, 
waxed  mighty  in  war,  turned  to  flight  armies  of  aliens — • 
even  *' these  all,  having  had  witness  borne  to  them 
through  their  faith,  received  not  the  promise :  God  having 
provided  some  better  thing  concerning  us,  that  apart 
from  us  they  should  not  be  made  perfect."  ^  At  death 
they  were  not  made  perfect.  They  passed  rather  into 
a  holy  rest  where  they  waited  until,  like  Abraham,  who 
had  "  rejoiced  that  he  should  see  Christ's  day,"  they 
"  saw  it  and  were  glad."  ^  Then  the  "  white  robe  "  was 
given  them.  They  were  raised  to  the  level  of  that 
Church  which,  now  that  Jesus  had  come,  rejoiced  in 
Him  with  ''a  joy  unspeakable  and  glorified."* 

These  considerations  appear  sufficient  to  decide  the 
point.  The  souls  under  the  altar  of  the  fifth  Seal  are 
the  saints,  not  of  Christianity,  but  of  Judaism.  It  is 
true  that  all  of  them  had  not  been  literally  "  slaughtered." 
But  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  this  book,  of  which  further 
proof  will  be  afforded  as  we  proceed,  that  it  regards 
all  true  follow^ers  of  Christ  as  martyrs.  Christ  was 
Himself  a  Martyr;  His  disciples  "follow"  Him  :  they 
are  martyrs.  Christ's  Church  is  a  martyr  Church. 
She  dies  in  her  Master's  service,  and  for  the  world's 
good. 

One  point  more  ought  to  be  noticed  before  we  leave 

*  Matt.  xi.  II.  3  John  viii.  56. 

*  Heb.  xi.  39,  40.  *  I  Pel  i,  8  (R.V.,  tnafgin). 


vi.  12-17.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED.  103 

this  Seal.  The  language  of  these  souls  under  the  altar 
is  apt  to  offend  when  they  apparently  cry  for  vengeance 
upon  their  murderers  :  How  long  dost  Thou  not  avenge  ? 
Yet  it  is  enough  to  say  that  so  to  interpret  their  cry 
is  to  do  injustice  to  the  whole  spirit  of  this  book. 
Strictly  speaking,  in  fact,  they  do  not  themselves  cry. 
It  is  their  blood  that  cries ;  it  is  the  wrong  done  to 
them  that  demands  reparation.  In  so  far  as  they  may 
be  supposed  to  cry,  they  have  in  view,  not  their  enemies 
as  persons,  but  the  evil  that  is  in  them,  and  that 
manifests  itself  through  them.  At  first  it  may  seem 
difficult  to  draw  the  distinction  ;  but  if  we  pause  over 
the  matter  for  a  little,  the  difficulty  will  disappear. 
Never  do  we  pity  the  sinner  more,  or  feel  for  him  with 
a  keener  sympathy,  than  when  we  are  most  indignant 
at  sin  and  most  earnest  in  pra3'er  and  effort  for  its 
destruction.  The  more  anxious  we  are  for  the  latter, 
the  more  must  we  compassionate  the  man  who  is 
enveloped  in  sin's  fatal  toils.  When  we  long  therefore 
for  the  hour  at  which  sin  shall  be  overtaken  by  the 
just  judgment  of  God,  we  long  only  for  the  establish- 
ment of  that  righteous  and  holy  kingdom  which  is 
inseparably  bound  up  with  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
happiness  of  the  world. 

For  this  kingdom  then  the  saints  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, together  with  all  their  ''  brethren "  under  the 
New  Testament,  who  like  them  are  faithful  unto  death, 
now  wait ;  and  the  opening  of  the  sixth  Seal  tells  us 
that  it  is  at  hand  : — 


And  I  saw  when  He  opened  the  sixth  seal,  and  there  was  a  great 
earthquake ;  and  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the 
whole  moon  became  as  blood  ;  and  the  stars  of  the  heaven  fell  unto 
the  earth,  as  a  fig  tree  ca.steth  her  unripe  figs,  when  she  is  shaken 
of  a  great  wind.     And  the  heaven  was  removed  as  a  scroll  when  it 


104  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


is  rolled  up;  and  every  mountain  and  island  were  moved  out  of 
their  places.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  princes,  and  the 
chief  captains,  and  the  rich,  and  the  strong,  and  every  bondman 
and  free  man,  hid  themselves  in  the  caves  and  in  the  rocks  of  the 
mountains;  and  they  say  to  the  mountains  and  to  the  rocks,  Fall  on 
us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and 
from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  :  for  the  great  day  of  their  wrath  is  come  ; 
and  who  is  able  to  stand  ?  (vi.  12-17). 

^  The  description  is  marked  by  almost  unparalleled 
magnificence  and  sublimity,  and  any  attempt  to  dwell 
upon  details  could  only  injure  the  general  effect.  The 
real  question  to  be  answered  is,  To  what  does  it  apply  ? 
Is  it  a  picture  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  or  of  the 
final  Judgment  ?  Or  may  it  even  represent  every  great 
calamity  by  which  a  sinful  world  is  overtaken  ?  In 
each  of  these  senses,  and  in  each  of  them  with  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  truth,  has  the  passage  been  understood. 
Each  is  a  part  of  the  great  thought  which  it  embraces. 
The  error  of  interpreters  has  consisted  in  confining  the 
whole,  or  even  the  primary,  sense  to  any  one  of  them. 
The  true  reference  of  the  passage  appears  to  be  to  the 
Christian  dispensation,  especially  on  its  side  of  judg- 
ment. That  dispensation  had  often  been  spoken  of 
by  the  prophets  in  a  precisely  similar  way;  and  the 
whole  description  of  these  verses,  alive  with  the  rich 
glow  of  the  Eastern  imagination,  is  taken  partly  from 
their  language,  and  partly  from  the  language  of  our 
Lord  in  the  more  prophetic  and  impassioned  moments 
of  His  life. 

Thus  it  was  that  Joel  had  announced  the  purpose  of 
God:  "And  I  will  show  wonders  in  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of  smoke.  The 
sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into 
blood,  before  the  great  and  the  terrible  day  of  the 
Lord  come,"  and  again,  "The  sun  and  the  moon  shall 


vi.  12-17.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED.  105 


be  darkened,  and  the  stars  shall  withdraw  their  shin- 
ing ; "  ^  while,  apart  altogether  from  the  immediately 
preceding  and  following  words,  which  prove  the  interpre- 
tation above  given  to  be  correct,  this  announcement  of 
Joel  was  declared  by  St.  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
to  apply  to  the  introduction  of  that  kingdom  of  Christ 
which,  in  the  gift  of  tongues,  was  at  that  moment  ex- 
hibited in  power.^  In  like  manner  we  read  in  the 
prophet  Haggai,  "  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  Yet 
once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  will  shake  the  heavens, 
and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  dry  land ;  and  I 
will  shake  all  nations."^  While,  again,  without  our 
needing  to  dwell  on  the  connexion  in  which  the  words 
occur,  we  find  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
applying  the  prophecy  to  the  circumstances  of  those  to 
whom  he  wrote  at  a  time  when  they  had  heard  the  voice 
that  speaketh  from  heaven,  and  had  received  the  king- 
dom that  cannot  be  moved.*  The  prophet  Malachi  also, 
whose  words  have  been  interpreted  for  us  by  our  Lord 
Himself,  describes  the  day  of  Him  whom  the  Baptist 
was  to  precede  and  to  introduce  as  the  day  that  "  burneth 
as  a  furnace,"  as  "the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord."^ 
This  aspect,  too,  of  any  great  era  in  the  history  of  a  land 
or  of  a  people  had  always  been  presented  by  the  voice 
of  prophecy  in  language  from  which  the  words  before  us 
are  obviously  taken.  Thus  it  was  that  when  Isaiah 
described  the  coming  of  a  time  at  which  the  mountain  of 
the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the 
mountains  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all 
nations  shall  flow  into  it,  he  mentions,  among  its  other 
characteristics,  '^  And  they  shall  go  into  the  holes  of  the 

»  Joel  ii.  30,  31 ;  iii.  15.  8  Haggai  ii.  6,  7. 

*  Acts  ii.  16-21.  *  Heb.  xii.  25-29. 

^  Mai.  iv.  I,  5;  Mark  ix.  11-13. 


io6  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

rocks,  and  into  the  caves  of  the  earth,  for  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  His  majesty,  when  He  ariseth 
to  shake  terribly  the  earth."  ^  When  the  same  prophet 
details  the  burden  of  Babylon  which  he  saw,  he  exclaims, 
"  Behold,  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  cruel  both  with 
wrath  and  fierce  anger  to  make  the  land  a  desolation, 
and  to  destroy  the  sinners  thereof  out  of  it.  For  the 
stars  of  heaven  and  the  constellations  thereof  shall  not 
give  their  light :  the  sun  shall  be  darkened  in  his  going 
forth,  and  the  moon  shall  not  cause  her  light  to  shine; "^ 
and  again,  when  he  widens  his  view  from  Babylon  to  a 
guilty  world,  "  For  the  Lord  hath  indignation  against 
all  the  nations,  and  fury  against  all  their  hosts.  .  .  .  And 
all  the  host  of  heaven  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  heavens 
shall  be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll :  and  all  their  host 
shall  fade  away,  as  the  leaf  falleth  from  off  the  vine,  and 
as  a  fading  fig  from  the  fig  tree."  ^  Many  other  passages 
of  a  similar  kind  might  be  quoted  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment ;  but,  without  quoting  further  from  that  source,  it 
may  be  enough  to  call  to  mind  that  when  our  Lord 
delivered  His  discourse  upon  the  last  things  He  adopted 
a  precisely  similar  strain  :  ''  Immediately  after  the  tribu- 
lation of  those  days  shall  the  sun  be  darkened,  and  the 
moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall 
from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be 
shakeh."* 

Highly  coloured,  therefore,  as  the  language  used 
under  the  sixth  Seal  may  appear  to  us,  to  the  Jew, 
animated  by  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament,  it  was 
simply  that  in  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  ex- 
press his  expectation  of  any  new  dispensation  of  the 
Almighty,  of  any  striking  crisis  in  the  history  of  the 

*  Isa.  ii.  19.  ^  Isa.  xxxiv.  2,  4. 

2  Isa.  xiii.  9,  10.  ^  Matt.  xxiv.  29. 


vi.  12-17.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED.  107 

world.  Whenever  he  thought  of  the  Judge  of  all 
the  earth  as  manifesting  Himself  in  a  greater  than 
ordinary  degree,  and  as  manifesting  Himself  in  that 
truth  and  righteousness  which  was  the  glorious  dis- 
tinction of  His  character,  he  took  advantage  of  such 
figures  as  we  have  now  before  us.  To  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  therefore,  to  every  great  crisis  in  human 
history,  and  to  the  close  of  all,  they  may  be  fittingly 
applied.  In  the  eloquent  language  of  Dr.  Vaughan, 
"  These  words  are  wonderful  in  all  senses,  not  least  in 
this  sense  :  that  they  are  manifold  in  their  accomplish- 
ment. Wherever  there  is  a  little  flock  in  a  waste 
wilderness  ;  wherever  there  is  a  Church  in  a  world ; 
wherever  there  is  a  power  of  unbelief,  ungodliness,  and 
violence,  throwing  itself  upon  Christ's  faith  and  Christ's 
people  and  seeking  to  overbear,  and  to  demolish,  and 
to  destroy  ;  whether  that  power  be  the  power  of  Jewish 
bigotry  and  fanaticism,  as  in  the  days  of  the  first 
disciples ;  or  of  pagan  Rome,  with  its  idolatries  and 
its  cruelties,  as  in  the  days  of  St.  John  and  of  the 
Revelation  ;  or  of  papal  Rome,  with  its  lying  wonders 
and  its  antichristian  assumptions,  in  ages  later  still ; 
or  of  open  and  rampant  atheism,  as  in  the  days  of  the 
first  French  Revolution ;  or  of  a  subtler  and  more  in- 
sidious infidelity,  like  that  which  is  threatening  now  to 
deceive,  if  it  were  possible,  the  very  elect ;  wherever 
and  whatever  this  power  may  be — and  it  has  had  a 
thousand  forms,  and  may  be  destined  yet  to  assume  a 
thousand  more — then,  in  each  successive  century,  the 
words  of  Christ  to  His  first  disciples  adapt  themselves 
afresh  to  the  circumstances  of  His  struggling  servants; 
warn  them  of  danger,  exhort  them  to  patience,  arouse 
them  to  hope,  assure  them  of  victory  ;  tell  of  a  near 
end  for  the  individual  and  for  the  generation ;  tell  also 


lo8  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  a  far  end,  not  for  ever  to  be  postponed,  for  time 
itself  and  for  the  world  ;  predict  a  destruction  which 
shall  befall  each  enemy  of  the  truth,  and  predict  a 
destruction  which  shall  befall  the  enemy  himself  whom 
each  in  turn  has  represented  and  served  ;  explain  the 
meaning  of  tribulation,  show  whence  it  comes,  and 
point  to  its  swallowing  up  in  glory  ;  reveal  the  moving 
hand  above,  and  disclose,  from  behind  the  cloud  which 
conceals  it,  the  clear  definite  purpose  and  the  un- 
changing loving  will.  Thus  understood,  each  separate 
downfall  of  evil  becomes  a  prophecy  of  the  next  and 
of  the  last;  and  the  partial  fulfilment  of  our  Lord's 
words  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  or  of  St.  John's 
w^ords  in  the  downfall  of  idolatry  and  the  dismember- 
ment of  Rome,  becomes  itself  in  turn  a  new  warrant 
for  the  Church's  expectation  of  the  Second  Advent  and 
of  the  day  of  judgment."^ 

While,  however,  the  truth  of  these  words  may  be 
allowed,  it  is  still  necessary  to  urge  that  the  primary 
application  of  the  language  of  the  sixth  Seal  is  to  no 
one  of  such  events  in  particular,  but  to  something 
which  includes  them  all.  In  other  words,  it  applies  to 
the  Christian  dispensation,  viewed  in  its  beginning,  its 
progress,  and  its  end,  viewed  in  all  those  issues  which 
it  produces  in  the  world,  but  especially  on  the  side  of 
judgment. 

Nor  ought  such  dark  and  terrible  figures  to  startle 
us,  as  if  they  could  not  be  suitably  applied  to  a  dis- 
pensation of  mercy,  of  grace  that  we  cannot  fathom,  of 
love  that  passeth  knowledge.  The  Christian  dispen- 
sation is  not  effeminacy.  If  it  tells  of  abounding  com- 
passion for  the  sinner,  it  tells  also  of  fire,  and  hail,  and 

*  Lectures  on  the  Revelation^  p.  170. 


vi.  12-17.]  THE  SEALED  ROLL   OPENED.  109 

vapour  of  smoke  for  the  sin.  If  it  speaks  at  one  time 
in  a  gentle  voice,  it  speaks  at  another  in  a  voice  of 
thunder ;  and,  when  the  latter  is  rightly  listened  to,  the 
air  is  cleared  as  by  the  whirlwind. 

Although,  therefore,  the  language  of  the  prophets 
and  of  this  passage  may  at  first  sight  appear  to  be 
marked  by  far  too  great  a  measure  both  of  strength 
and  of  severity  to  make  it  applicable  to  the  Gospel 
age,  it  is  in  reality  neither  too  strong  nor  too  severe. 
It  is  at  variance  only  with  the  verdict  of  that  superficial 
glance  which  is  satisfied  with  looking  at  phenomena  in 
their  outward  and  temporary  aspect,  and  which  dechnes 
to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  things.  So  long  as  man 
is  content  with  such  a  spirit,  he  is  naturally  enough 
unstirred  by  any  powerful  emotion  ;  and  he  can  only 
say  that  words  of  prophetic  fire  are  words  of  exaggera- 
tion and  of  false  enthusiasm.  But  no  sooner  does  he 
catch  that  spirit  of  the  Bible  which  brings  him  into 
contact  with  eternal  verities  than  his  tone  changes. 
He  can  no  longer  rest  upon  the  surface.  He  can  no 
longer  dismiss  the  thought  of  mighty  issues  at  stake 
around  him  with  the  reflection  that  "  all  the  world's  a 
stage,  and  all  the  men  and  women  on  it  only  players." 
When  from  the  shore  he  looks  out  upon  the  mass  of 
waters  stretching  before  him,  he  thinks  not  merely  of 
the  light  waves  rippling  at  his  feet  and  losing  them- 
selves in  the  sand,  but  of  the  unfathomed  depths  of  the 
ocean  from  which  they  come,  and  of  those  mysterious 
movements  of  it  which  they  indicate.  He  sees  sights, 
he  hears  sounds,  which  the  common  eye  does  not  see, 
arid  the  common  ear  does  not  hear.  The  slightest 
motion  of  the  soil  speaks  to  him  of  earthquakes ;  the 
handful  of  snow  loosened  from  the  mountain-side,  of 
avalanches  ;   the  simplest  utterance  of  awe,  of  a  cry 


no  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


that  the  mountains  and  the  hills  are  falling.  The  great 
does  not  become  to  him  little  ;  but  the  httle  becomes 
great.  There  is  thus  no  exaggeration  in  the  strength 
or  even  in  the  severity  of  prophetic  figures.  The 
prophet  has  passed  from  the  world  of  shadows,  flitting 
past  him  and  disappearing,  into  the  world  of  realities, 
Divine,  unchangeable,. and  everlasting. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CONSOLATORY  VISIONS, 
Rev.  vii. 

SIX  of  the  seven  Seals  have  been  opened  by  the 
^'  Lamb,"  who  is  hkewise  the  "  Lion  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah."  They  have  dealt,  in  brief  but  pregnant 
sentences,  with  the  whole  history  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  world  throughout  the  Christian  age.  No  details 
of  history  have  indeed  been  spoken  of,  no  particular 
wars,  or  famines,  or  pestilences,  or  slaughters,  or  pre- 
servations of  the  saints.  Everything  has  been  described 
in  the  most  general  terms.  We  have  been  invited  to 
think  only  of  the  principles  of  the  Divine  government, 
but  of  these  as  the  most  sublime  and,  according  to  our 
own  state  of  mind,  the  most  alarming  or  the  most 
consolatory  principles  that  can  engage  the  attention  of 
men.  God,  has  been  the  burden  of  the  six  Seals,  is 
King  over  all  the  earth.  Why  do  the  heathen  rage, 
and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ?  Why  do  they 
exalt  themselves  against  the  sovereign  Ruler  of  the 
universe,  who  said  to  the  Son  of  His  love,  when  He 
made  Him  Head  over  all  things  for  His  Church,  ^'Thou 
art  My  Son;  this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee;"  **  Rule 
Thou  in  the  midst  of  Thine  enemies  "?^  Listening  to 
the  voice  of  these  Seals,  we  know  that  the  world,  with 

*  Ps.  ii.  7  ;  ex.  7. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


all  its  mighl,  rliall  prevail  neither  against  the  Head 
nor  against  the  members  of  the  Body.  Even  when 
apparently  successful  it  shall  fight  a  losing  battle.  Even 
when  apparently  defeated  Christ  and  they  who  are 
one  with  Him  shall  march  to  victory. 

We  are  not  to  imagine  that  the  Seals  of  chap.  vi. 
follow  one  another  in  chronological  succession,  or  that 
each  of  them  belongs  to  a  definite  date.  The  Seer 
does  not  look  forward  to  age  succeeding  age  or  century 
century.  To  him  the  whole  period  between  the  first 
and  the  second  coming  of  Christ  is  but  "  a  little  time," 
and  whatever  is  to  happen  in  it  ''must  shortly  come 
to  pass."  In  truth  he  can  hardly  be  said  to  deal  with 
the  lapse  of  time  at  all.  He  deals  with  the  essential 
characteristics  of  the  Divine  government  in  time, 
whether  it  be  long  or  short.  Shall  the  revolving  years 
be  in  our  sense  short,  these  characteristics  will  never- 
theless come  forth  with  a  clearness  that  shall  leave  man 
without  excuse.  Shall  they  be  in  our  sense  long,  the 
unfolding  of  God's  eternal  plan  will  only  be  again  and 
again  made  manifest.  He  with  whom  we  have  to  do 
is  without  beginning  of  days  or  end  of  years,  the  /  <?;;/, 
unchangeable  both  in  the  attributes  of  His  own  nature, 
and  in  the  execution  of  His  purposes  for  the  world's 
redemption.  Let  us  cast  our  eyes  along  the  centuries 
that  have  passed  away  since  Jesus  died  and  rose  again. 
They  are  full  of  one  great  lesson.  At  every  point  at 
which  we  pause  we  see  the  Son  of  God  going  forth 
conquering  and  to  conquer.  We  see  the  world  strug- 
gling against  His  righteousness,  refusing  to  submit  to 
it,  and  dooming  itself  in  consequence  to  every  form  of 
woe.  We  see  the  children  of  God  following  a  crucified 
Redeemer,  but  preserved,  sustained,  animated,  their 
cross,  like  His,  their  crown.     Finally,  as  we  realize  more 


vii.  1-8.]  CONSOLATORY   VISIONS.  113 

and  more  deeply  what  is  going  on  around  us,  we  feel 
that  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  great  earthquake,  that  the 
sun  and  the  moon  have  become  black,  and  that  the 
stars  of  heaven  are  falling  to  the  earth ;  yet  by  the  eye 
of  faith  we  pierce  the  darkness,  and  where  are  all  our 
adversaries  ?  Where  are  the  kings  and  the  potentates, 
the  rich  and  the  powerful  of  the  earthy  of  an  ungodly 
and  persecuting  world  ?  They  have  hid  themselves  in 
the  caves  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains  ;  and  we 
hear  them  say  to  the  mountains  and  to  the  rocks,  "  Fall  on 
us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  from  the  wTath  of  the  Lamb  :  for  the  great 
day  of  their  wrath  is  come  ;  and  who  is  able  to  stand  ?  " 
With  the  beginning  of  chap.  vii.  we  might  expect 
the  seventh  Seal  to  be  opened  ;  but  it  is  the  manner  of 
the  apocalyptic  writer,  before  any  final  or  particularly 
critical  manifestation  of  the  wrath  of  God,  to  present  us 
with  visions  of  consolation,  so  that  we  may  enter  into 
the  thickest  darkness,  even  into  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  without  alarm.  We  have  already 
met  wnth  this  in  chaps,  iv.  and  v.  We  shall  meet  with 
it  again.     Meanwhile  it  is  here  illustrated  : — 

After  this  I  saw  four  angels  standing  at  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth,  holding  the  four  winds  of  the  earth,  that  no  wind  should  blow 
en  the  earth,  or  on  the  sea,  or  upon  any  tree.  And  I  saw  another 
angel  ascend  from  the  sun-rising,  having  the  seal  of  the  living  God  : 
and  he  cried  with  a  great  voice  to  the  four  angels,  to  whom  it  was 
given  to  hurt  the  earth  and  the  sea,  saying.  Hurt  not  the  earth, 
neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  shall  have  sealed  the  servants  of 
our  God  on  their  foreheads.  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them  which 
■were  sealed,  a  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand,  sealed  out  of 
every  tribe  of  the  children  of  Israal.  Of  the  tribe  of  Judah  were 
sealed  twelve  thousand;  of  the  tribe  of  Reuben,  twelve  thousand;  of 
the  tribe  of  Gad,  twelve  thousand  ;  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  twelve  thou- 
sand ;  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali,  twelve  thousand  ;  of  the  tribe  of 
Manasseh,  twelve  thousand;  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  twelve  thousand; 

8 


114  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  twelve  thousand  ;  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  twelve 
thousand  ;  of  the  tribe  of  Zebulun,  twelve  thousand  ;  of  the  tribe  of 
Joseph,  twelve  thousand  ;  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand  (vii.  i-8). 

Although  various  important  questions,  which  we 
shall  have  to  notice,  arise  in  connexion  with  this  vision, 
there  never  has  been,  as  there  scarcely  can  be,  any 
doubt  as  to  its  general  meaning.  In  its  main  features 
it  is  taken  from  the  language  of  Ezekiel,  when  that 
prophet  foretold  the  approaching  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem :  "  He  cried  also  with  a  loud  voice  in  mine  ears, 
saying.  Cause  them  that  have  charge  over  the  city 
to  draw  near,  even  every  man  with  his  destroying 
weapon  in  his  hand.  And,  behold,  six  men  came  from 
the  way  of  the  higher  gate,  which  lieth  toward  the 
north,  and  every  man  a  slaughter  weapon  in  his  hand  ; 
and  one  man  among  them  was  clothed  with  fine  linen, 
with  a  writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side.  .  .  .  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  him,  Go  through  the  midst  of  the 
city,  through  the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  and  set  a  mark 
upon  the  foreheads  of  the  men  that  sigh  and  that  cry 
for  all  the  abominations  that  be  done  in  the  midst 
thereof.  .  .  .  And,  behold,  the  man  clothed  with  linen, 
which  had  the  inkhorn  by  his  side,  reported  the  matter, 
saying,  I  have  done  as  Thou  hast  commanded  me."^ 
Preservation  of  the  faithful  in  the  midst  of  judgment 
on  the  wicked  is  the  theme  of  the  Old  Testament 
vision,  and  in  like  manner  it  is  the  theme  of  this  vision 
of  St.  John.  The  winds  are  the  symbols  of  judgment ; 
and,  being  in  number  four  and  held  by  four  angels 
standing  at  the  four  corners  of  the  earthy  they  indicate 
that  the  judgment  when  inflicted  will  be  universal. 
There  is  no  place   to  which   the  ungodly  can  escape, 

'  Ezek.  ix. 


vii.  1-8.]  THE  SEALED.  I15 

none  where  they  shall  not  be  overtaken  by  the  wrath  of 
God.  ''  He  that  fleeth  of  them,"  says  the  Almighty  by 
His  prophet,  ''  shall  not  flee  away,  and  he  that  escapeth 
of  them  shall  not  be  delivered.  Though  they  dig 
into  hell,  thence  shall  Mine  hand  take  them  ;  though 
they  climb  up  to  heaven,  thence  will  I  bring  them 
down :  and  though  they  hide  themselves  in  the  top 
of  Carmel,  I  will  search  and  take  them  out  thence  ; 
and  though  they  be  hid  from  My  sight  in  the  bottom 
of  the  sea,  thence  will  I  command  the  serpent,  and  he 
shall  bite  them."  ^ 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  the  safety  of  the  righteous 
is  secured,  and  that  in  a  way,  as  compared  with  the 
way  of  the  Old  Testament,  proportionate  to  the  supe- 
rior greatness  of  their  privileges.  They  are  marked 
as  God's,  not  by  a  man  out  of  the  city,  but  by  an  angel 
ascending  from  the  sun-risings  the  quarter  whence 
proceeds  that  light  of  day  which  gilds  the  loftiest 
mountain-tops  and  penetrates  into  the  darkest  recesses 
of  the  valle3^s.  This  angel,  with  his  great  voice,  is 
*  probably  the  Lord  Himself  appearing  by  His  angel. 
The  mark  impressed  upon  the  righteous  is  more  than 
a  mere  mark  :  it  is  a  seal — a  seal  similar  to  that  with 
which  Christ  was  *'  sealed  ; "  ^  the  seal  which  in  the 
Song  of  Songs  the  bride  desires  as  the  token  of  the 
Bridegroom's  love  to  her  alone:  "Set  me  as  a  seal 
upon  Thine  heart,  as  a  seal  upon  Thine  arm  ;  "  ^  the 
seal  which  expresses  the  thought,  "  The  Lord  knoweth 
them  that  are  His."  *  Finally,  this  seal  is  impressed 
on  the  forehead,  on  that  part  of  the  body  on  which 
the  high-priest  of  Israel  wore  the  golden  plate,  with 
its  inscription,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord."     Such  a  seal, 

*  Amos  ix.  1-3,  ^  Cant.  viii.  3. 

"  John  vi.  27.  *  2  Tim.  ii.  19. 


Ii6  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


manifest  to  the  eyes  of  all,  was  a  witness  to  all  that 
they  who  bore  it  were  acknowledged  by  the  Redeemer 
before  all,  even  before  His  Father  and  the  holy  angels.^ 

When  we  turn  to  the  numbers  sealed,  every  reader 
who  reflects  for  a  moment  will  allow  that  they  must 
be  symbolically,  and  not  literally,  understood.  Twelve 
thousand  out  of  each  of  twelve  tribes,  in  all  a  hundred 
and  forty  and  four  thousand^  bears  upon  its  face  the 
stamp  of  symboHsm.  It  is  more  difficult  to  answer 
the  question.  Who  are  they?  Are  they  Jewish 
Christians,  or  are  they  the  whole  multitude  of  God's 
faithful  people  belonging  to  the  Church  universal,  but 
indicated  by  a  figure  taken  from  Judaism  ? 

The  question  now  asked  is  of  greater  than  ordinary 
importance,  for  upon  the  answer  given  to  it  largely 
depends  the  solution  of  the  problem  whether  the  author 
of  the  fourth  Gospel  and  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse 
are  the  same.  If  the  first  vision  of  the  chapter  relating 
to  those  sealed  out  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  speak  only 
of  Jewish  Christians,  and  the  second  vision,  beginning 
at  ver.  9,  of  "  the  great  multitude  which  no  man 
could  number,"  speak  of  Gentile  Christians,  it  will 
follow  that  the  writer  exhibits  a  particularistic  tendency 
altogether  at  variance  with  the  universalism  of  the 
author  of  the  fourth  Gospel.  Gentile  Christians  will  be, 
as  they  have  been  called,  an  "  appendix  "  to  the  Jewish- 
Christian  Church ;  and  the  followers  of  Jesus  will 
fail  to  constitute  one  flock  all  the  members  of  which 
are  equal  in  the  sight  of  God,  occupy  the  same  position, 
and  enjoy  the  same  privileges.  The  first  impression 
produced  by  the  vision  of  the  sealed  is  undoubtedly 
that  it  refers  to  Jew'ish  Christians,  and  to  them  alone. 


Comp.  Luke  xii.  8. 


vii.  1-8.]  THE  SEALED.  1 17 

Many  considerations,  however,  lead  to  the  wider 
conclusion  that,  under  a  Jewish  figure,  they  include 
all  the  followers  of  Christ,  or  the  universal  Church. 
Some  of  these  at  least  ought  to  be  noticed. 

I.  We  have  not  yet  found,  and  we  shall  not  find  in 
an}'  later  part  of  the  Apocalypse,  a  distinction  drawn 
between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians.  To  the  eye  of 
the  Seer,  the  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  one. 
There  is  in  it  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  barbarian, 
Scythian,  bond,  nor  free.  He  recognises  in  it  in  its  col- 
lective capacity  the  Body  of  Christ,  all  the  members 
of  which  occupy  the  same  relation  to  their  Lord,  and 
stand  equally  in  grace.  He  knows  indeed  of  a  distinc- 
tion between  the  Jewish  Church,  which  waited  for  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  and  the  Christian  Church,  which 
rejoiced  in  Him  as  come  ;  but  he  knows  also  that  when 
Jesus  did  come  the  privileges  of  the  latter  were  be- 
stowed upon  those  in  the  former  who  had  looked 
onward  to  Christ's  day,  and  that  they  were  arrayed 
in  the  same  ''white  robe."  Under  all  the  six  Seals, 
accordingly,  embracing  the  whole  period  of  the  Gospel 
dispensation,  there  is  not  a  single  word  to  suggest  the 
thought  that  the  Christian  Church  is  divided  into  two 
parts.  The  struggle,  the  preservation,  and  the  victory 
belong  equally  to  all.  A  similar  remark  may  be  made 
on  the  epistles  to  the  seven  churches,  which  unques- 
tionably contain  a  representation  of  that  Church  the 
fortunes  of  which  are  to  be  afterwards  described.  In 
these  epistles  Christ  walks  equally  in  the  midst  of  every 
part  of  it ;  and  promises  are  made,  not  in  one  form  to 
one  member  and  in  another  to  another,  but  always  in 
precisely  the  same  terms  to  "  him  that  overcometh." 
It  would  be  out  of  keeping  with  this  were  we  now, 
when  a  similar  topic  of  preservation  is  on  hand,  to  be 


ii8  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

introduced  to  a  Jewish-Christian  as  distinguished  from 
a  Gentile-Christian  Church. 

2.  It  is  the  custom  of  the  Seer  to  heighten  and 
spirituahze  all  Jewish  names.  The  Temple,  the  Taber- 
nacle, the  Altar,  Mount  Zion,  and  Jerusalem  are  to  him 
the  embodiments  of  ideas  deeper  than  those  literally 
conveyed  by  them.  Analogy  therefore  might  suggest 
that  this  also  would  be  the  case  with  the  word  "  Israel." 
Nay,  it  would  even  be  the  more  natural  so  to  use  that 
word,  because  it  is  so  often  used  in  the  same  spiritual 
sense  in  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament :  ^'  But  they 
are  not  all  Israel  which  are  of  Israel ;  "  "  And  as  many 
as  shall  walk  by  this  rule,  peace  be  upon  them,  and 
mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God."^  Nor  need  we 
be  startled  by  that  employment  of  the  word  tribes,  which 
may  seem  to  give  more  precision  to  the  idea  that  Jewish 
Christians  are  designated  by  the  term,  for  St.  John,  in 
his  peculiar  way  of  looking  at  men,  beheld  "tribes"  not 
only  among  the  Jews,  but  among  all  nations  :  "  And  all 
the  tribes  of  the  earth  shall  mourn  over  Him."^  In 
chap.  xxi.  12,  too,  the  "tw^elve  tribes"  plainly  include 
all  believers. 

3.  The  enumeration  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  given  in 
these  verses  is  different  from  any  other  enumeration  ol 
the  kind  contained  in  Scripture.  Thus  the  tribe  of 
Dan  is  omitted  ;  and,  contrary  to  the  practice  of  at 
least  the  later  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  that  of  Levi 
is  inserted  ;  while  Joseph  also  is  substituted  for  Ephraim  : 
and  the  order  in  which  the  twelve  are  given  has  else- 
where no  parallel.  Points  such  as  these  may  appear 
trifling,  but  they  are  not  without  importance.  No 
student  of  the  Apocalypse  will  imagine  that  they  are 

*  Rom.  ix.  6  ;  Gal.  vi.  16.  *  Chap.  i.  7. 


vii.  1-8.]  THE  SEALED. 


19 


accidental  or  undesigned.  He  may  not  be  able  to 
satisfy  either  himself  or  others  as  to  the  grounds 
upon  which  St.  John  proceeded,  but  that  there  were 
grounds  sufficient  to  the  Apostle  himself  for  what  he 
did  he  will  not  for  a  moment  doubt.  One  thing  may, 
however,  be  said.  If  the  changes  can  be  explained  at 
all,  it  must  be  by  considerations  springing  out  of  the 
heart  of  the  Christian  community,  and  not  out  of  any 
suggested  by  the  relations  of  the  tribes  of  Judaism  to 
one  another.  Levi  may  thus  be  inserted,  instead  of 
standing  apart  as  formerly,  because  in  Christ  Jesus 
there  was  no  priestly  tribe  :  all  Christians  were  priests ; 
Dan  may  be  omitted  because  that  tribe  had  chosen  the 
serpent  as  its  emblem,  and  St.  John  not  only  felt  with 
peculiar  power  the  direct  antagonism  to  Christ  of  ''  the 
old  serpent  the  devil,"  ^  but  had  been  accustomed  to 
see  in  the  traitor  Judas,  who  had  been  expelled  from 
the  apostolic  band,  and  for  whom  another  apostle  had 
been  substituted,  the  very  impersonation  or  incarnation 
of  Satan  ^;  Ephraim  also  may  have  been  replaced  by 
Joseph  because  of  its  enmity  to  Judah,  the  tribe  out  of 
which  Jesus  sprang;  while  Judah,  the  fourth  son  of 
Jacob,  may  head  the  list  because  it  was  the  tribe  in 
which  Christ  was  born. 

4.  Some  of  the  expressions  of  the  passage  are  in- 
consistent with  the  hmitation  of  the  sealed  to  any 
special  class  of  Christians.  Why,  for  example,  should 
the  holding  back  of  the  winds  be  universal  ?  Would 
it  not  have  been  enough  to  restrain  the  winds  that 
blew  on  Jewish  Christians,  and  not  the  winds  of  the 
whole  earth  ?  And  again,  why  do  we  meet  with 
language  of  so  general  a  character  as  that  of  ver.  3  : 


Comp.  chap.  xii.  9.  «  JqJ^jj  ^^j^j^  2. 


I20  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

^^ till  we  shall  have  scaled  the  sci-vants  of  our  God'''? 
This  designation  "servants"  seems  to  include  the 
whole  number,  and  not  some  only,  of  God's  children. 
.5.  If  God's  servants  from  among  the  Gentiles  are 
not  now  sealed,  the  Apocal3'pse  mentions  no  other  occa- 
sion when  they  were  so.  It  is  true  that,  according  to 
the  ordinary  interpretation  of  the  next  vision,  they  are 
admitted  to  the  happiness  of  heaven ;  but  we  may  well 
ask  whether,  if  the  sealing  be  the  emblem  of  preservation 
am.idst  worldty  troubles,  they  ought  not  also,  at  one  time 
or  another,  to  have  been  sealed  on  earth. 

6.  The  sealed  are  marked  upon  th^iv  foreheads,  and 
in  chap.  xxii.  4  all  believers  are  marked  in  a  similar  way. 

7.  We  shall  meet  again  this  number  of  a  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand  in  chap.  xiv. ;  and,  while  it  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  the  same  persons  are  on  both 
occasions  included  in  it,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  at 
least  the  whole  number  of  the  redeemed  is  meant. 

8.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  contrasts  of  the 
Apocalypse  lead  directly  to  a  similar  conclusion. 
St.  John  always  sees  light  and  darkness  standing 
over  against  each  other,  and  exhibiting  themselves  in 
a  correspondence  which,  extending  even  to  minute 
details,  aids  the  task  of  the  interpreter.  Now  in  many 
passages  of  this  book  we  find  Satan  not  only  marking 
his  followers,  but,  precisely  as  here,  marking  them  upon 
the  "  forehead ;  "  ^  and  it  is  impossible  to  resist  the  con- 
clusion that  the  one  marking  is  the  antithesis  of  the 
other.  But  this  mark  is  imprinted  by  Satan  upon  all 
his  followers,  and  the  inference  is  legitimate  that  the 
seal  of  the  living  God  is  in  like  manner  imprinted 
upon  all  the  followers  of  Jesus. 

*  Chaps,  xiii.  16,  17;  xiv.  9;  xvi.  2;  xix.  20;  xx.  4, 


vii.  1-8.]  niE  SEALED. 


121 


9.  One  more  reason  may  be  assigned  for  this  con- 
clusion. If  ver.  4,  with  its  ''  hundred  and  forty  and  four 
thousand  out  of  every  tribe  of  the  children  of  Israel," 
is  to  be  understood  of  Jewish  Christians  alone,  the 
contrast  between  it  and  ver.  9,  with  its  ''great 
multitude,  which  no  man  can  number,  out  of  every 
nation,  and  of  all  tribes,  and  peoples,  and  tongues," 
makes  it  necessary  to  understand  the  latter  of  Genti'e 
Christians  alone.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  the  com- 
prehensive enumeration  of  this  verse  may  include 
Jewish  as  well  as  Gentile  Christians.  Placed  over 
against  the  very  definite  statement  of  ver.  4,  it  can 
only,  according  to  the  style  of  the  Apocalypse,  be 
referred  to  persons  who  have  come  out  of  the  heathen 
world  in  the  fourfold  conception  of  its  parts.  Now, 
whatever  may  be  the  precise  interpretation  of  the 
second  vision  of  the  chapter,  it  is  undeniable  that  it 
unfolds  a  higher  stage  of  privilege  and  glory  than  the 
first.  It  will  thus  follow  on  the  supposition  now  com- 
bated that  at  the  very  instant  when  the  Apostle  is  said 
to  be  placing  Gentile  Christians  in  a  position  of  in- 
feriority to  Jewish  Christians,  and  when  he  is  treating 
the  one  as  simply  an  ''  appendix "  to  the  other,  he 
Fpeaks  of  them  as  the  inheritors  of  a  far  greater 
''  \^  eight  of  glory."  St.  John  could  not  be  thus  in- 
consistent with  himself. 

The  conclusion  from  all  that  has  been  said,  is  plain. 
The  vision  of  the  sealing  does  not  apply  to  Jewish 
Christians  only,  but  to  the  universal  Church.  When 
the  judgments  of  God  are  abroad  in  the  world,  all  the 
disciples  of  Christ  are  sealed  for  preservation  against 
them. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said,  the  reader  may 
still  find  it  difficult  to  conceive  that  two  pictures  of  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


same  multitude  should  be  presented  to  us  drawn  on 
such  entirely  different  lines.  What  is  the  meaning  of 
it  ?  he  may  exclaim.  What  is  the  Seer's  motive  in 
doing  so  ?  The  explanation  is  not  difficult.  An  atten- 
tive examination  of  the  structural  principles  marking 
the  writings  of  St.  John  will  show  that  they  are  dis- 
tinguished by  a  tendency  to  set  forth  the  same  object 
in  two  different  lights,  the  latter  of  which  is  climactic  to 
the  former,  as  w^ell  as,  for  the  most  part  at  least,  taken 
from  a  different  sphere.  The  writer  is  not  satisfied 
with  a  single  utterance  of  what  he  desires  to  impress 
upon  his  readers.  After  he  has  uttered  it  for  the  first 
time,  he  brings  it  again  before  him,  works  upon  it, 
enlarges  it,  deepens  it,  sets  it  forth  w^ith  stronger  and 
more  vivid  colouring.  The  fundamental  idea  is  the 
same  on  both  occasions  ;  but  on  the  second  it  is  the 
centre  of  a  circle  of  wider  circumference,  and  it  is 
uttered  in  a  more  impressive  manner.  Want  of  space 
will  not  permit  the  illustration  of  this  by  an  appeal 
either  to  the  nature  of  Hebrew  thought  in  general,  or 
to  the  other  writings  of  the  New  Testament  which  ow^e 
their  authorship  to  St.  John.  It  must  be  enough  to 
say  that  the  fourth  Gospel  bears  deep  and  important 
traces  of  this  characteristic,  and  that  difficult  passages 
in  it  not  otherwise  explicable  seem  to  be  solved  by  its 
application.^  The  main  point  to  be  kept  in  view  is 
that  the  principle  in  question  may  be  traced  on  many 
different  occasions  both  in  the  fourth  Gospel  and  in  the 
Apocalypse.  One  of  these  has  indeed  already  come 
under  our  notice  in  the  case  of  the  ''  golden  candle- 
sticks" and  of  the  ''stars"  in  Chapter  I.  of  this  book. 
The   two   figures  relate  to  the    same    object,   but   the 

*  The  writer  has  treated  this  subject  at  considerable  length  in  Tht 

Expositor  (2nd  series,  vol.  iv,). 


^'ii-  i-S]  THE  SEALED.  '  ,23 


second  is  climactic  to  the  first,  and  it  is  taken  from 
a  larger  field.  The  same  principle  meets  us  here. 
The  second  vision  of  chap.  vii.  is  climactic  to  the 
first,  and  the  field  from  which  it  is  drawn  is  larger. 
The  analogy,  however,  not  of  the  golden  candlesticks 
and  of  the  stars  only,  but  of  many  other  passages  of 
a  similar  kind,  warrants  the  inference  that  both  the 
visions  relate  to  the  same  thing,  although  the  aspect  in 
which  it  is  looked  at  is  in  each  case  different.  Any 
difficulty  therefore  at  first  presented  by  the  double 
picture  disappears  ;  while  the  peculiarity  of  structure 
exhibited  not  only  helps  to  lead  us  to  a  Johannine 
authorship,  but  tends  powerfully  to  establish  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  interpretation  now  adopted. 

We  are  thus  entitled  to  conclude  that  the  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand  of  this  first  consolatory  vision 
represent  not  Jewish  Christians  only,  but  the  whole 
Church  of  God,  and  that  the  number  used  is  intended  to 
represent  completeness :  not  one  member  of  the  true 
Church  is  lost.^  Twelve,  a  sacred  number,  the  number 
of  the  patriarchs,  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  of  the 
Apostles  of  Jesus,  is  first  multiplied  by  itself,  and  then 
by  a  thousand,  the  sign  of  the  heavenly  in  contrast 
with  the  earthly.  A  hundred  and  forty  and  four 
thousand  is  the  result. 

It  need  only  further  be  observed— and  the  observation 
will  help  to  confirm  what  has  been  said— that  St.  John 
did  not  himself  count  the  number  of  the  sealed.  He 
/iea?-d  the  number  of  them  (ver.  4).  Already  they  were 
''a  multitude  which  no  man  could  number"  (ver.  9). 
But  He  who  telleth  the  innumerable  stars  that  sparkle 
in  the  midnight  sky,  and  who  ''  bringeth  out  their  host 

'  Comp.  Jchn  xvii   12. 


124  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

by  number,"  ^  could  number  them.     He    it  was  who 
communicated  the  number  to  the  Seer. 

The  second  vision  of  the  chapter  follows  : — 

After  these  things  I  saw,  and,  behold,  a  great  multitude,  which  no 
man  could  number,  out  of  every  nation,  and  of  all  tribes,  and  peoples, 
and  tongues,  standing  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  arra3'ed 
in  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands  ;  and  they  cry  with  a  great 
voice,  saying,  Salvation  unto  our  God  which  sitteth  on  the  throne, 
and  unto  the  Lamb.  And  all  the  angels  were  standing  round  about 
the  throne,  and  about  the  elders  and  the  four  living  creatures ;  and 
they  fell  before  the  throne  on  their  faces,  and  worshipped  God,  saying, 
Amen  :  Blessing,  and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and 
honour,  and  power,  and  might,  be  unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.  And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying  unto  me.  These 
which  are  arrayed  in  the  white  robes,  who  are  they,  and  whence 
came  they  ?  And  I  said  unto  him,  My  lord,  thou  knowest.  And 
he  said  to  me.  These  are  they  which  came  out  of  the  great  tribula- 
tion, and  they  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  they 
serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple  :  and  He  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne  shall  spread  His  tabernacle  over  them.  They  shall  hunger  no 
more,  neither  thirst  any  more;  neither  shall  the  sun  strike  upon 
hem,  nor  any  heat :  for  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
shall  be  their  Shepherd,  and  shall  guide  them  unto  fountains  of 
waters  of  life :  and  God  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes 
(vii.  9-17). 

Upon  the  magnificence  and  beauty  of  this  description 
it  is  not  only  unnecessary,  it  would  be  a  mistake,  to 
dwell.  Words  of  man  would  only  mar  the  sublimity  and 
pathos  of  the  spectacle.  Neither  is  it  desirable  to  look 
at  each  expression  of  the  passage  in  itself.  These  ex- 
pressions are  better  considered  as  a  whole.  One  point 
indeed  ought  to  be  carefully  kept  in  view  :  that  the 
palms  spoken  of  in  ver.  9  as  in  the  hands  of  the  happy 
multitude  are  not  the  palms  of  victory  in  any  earthly 
contest,  but  the  palms  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and 


Isa.  xl.  26. 


vii.  9-17]      THE  PALM-BEARING  MULTITUDE.  125 

that    upon    the    thought    of   that    feast    the    scene   is 
moulded. 

The  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  it  will  be  remembered, 
was  at  once  the  last,  the  highest,  and  the  most  joyful 
of  the  festivals  of  the  Jewish  year.  It  fell  in  the  month 
of  October,  when  the  harvest  not  only  of  grain,  but  of 
,wine  and  oil,  had  been  gathered  in,  and  when,  therefore, 
all  the  labours  of  the  year  were  past.  It  was  preceded, 
too,  by  the  great  Day  of  Atonement,  the  ceremonial  of 
which  gathered  together  all  the  sacrificial  acts  of  the 
previous  months,  beheld  the  sins  of  the  people,  from 
their  highest  to  their  lowest,  carried  away  into  the 
wilderness,  and  brought  with  it  the  blessing  of  God 
from  that  innermost  recess  of  the  sanctuary  which  was 
lightened  by  the  special  glory  of  His  presence,  and 
into  which  the  high-priest  even  was  permitted  to  enter 
upon  that  day  alone.  The  feelings  awakened  in  Israel 
at  the  time  were  of  the  most  triumphant  kind.  They 
returned  in  thought  to  the  independent  life  which  their 
fathers,  deHvered  from  the  bondage  of  Eg3^pt,  led  m 
the  wilderness ;  and,  the  better  to  realize  this,  they 
left  their  ordinary  dwellings  and  took  up  their  abode 
for  the  days  of  the  feast  in  booths,  which  they  erected 
in  the  streets  or  on  the  flat  roofs  of  their  houses. 
These  booths  were  made  of  branches  of  their  most 
prized,  most  fruit-bearing,  and  most  umbrageous  trees ; 
and  beneath  them  they  raised  their  psalms  of  thanks- 
giving to  Him  who  had  delivered  them  as  a  bird  out  of 
the  snare  of  the  fowler.  Even  this  was  not  all,  for  we 
know  that  in  the  later  period  of  their  history  the  Jews 
connected  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  with  the  brightest 
anticipations  of  the  future  as  well  as  with  the  most 
joyful  memories  of  the  past.  They  beheld  in  it  the 
promise  of  the  Spirit,  the  great  gift  of  the  approaching 


126  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


Messianic  age  ;  and,  that  they  might  give  full  expression 
to  this,  they  sent  on  the  eighth,  or  great,  day  of  the 
feast,  a  priest  to  the  pool  of  Siloam  with  a  golden  urn, 
that  he  might  fill  it  from  the  pool,  and,  bringing  it  up 
to  the  Temple,  might  pour  it  on  the  altar.  This  is 
the  part  of  the  ceremonial  alluded  to  in  John  vii.  37- 
39,  and  during  it  the  joy  of  the  people  reached  its 
highest  point.  They  surrounded  the  priest  in  crowds 
as  he  brought  up  the  water  from  the  pool,  waved  their 
lulabs — small  branches  of  palm  trees,  the  "  palms  "  of  ver. 
9 — and  made  the  courts  of  the  Temple  re-echo  with  their 
song,  "  With  joy  shall  3^e  draw  water  out  of  wells  of 
salvation."^  At  night  the  great  illumination  of  the 
Temple  followed,  that  to  which  our  Lord  most  probably 
alludes  when,  immediately  after  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles 
spoken  of  in  chap.  viii.  of  the  fourth  Gospel,  He  ex- 
claims, "  I  am  the  Light  of  the  world  :  he  that  followeth 
Me  shall  not  walk  in  the  darkness,  but  shall  have  the 
light  of  life."  2 

Such  was  the  scene  the  main  particulars  of  which  are 
here  made  use  of  by  the  apocalyptic  Seer  to  set  before 
us  the  triumphant  and  glorious  condition  of  the  Church 
w^hen,  after  all  her  members  have  been  sealed,  they  are 
admitted  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  God's 
covenant,  and  when,  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
and  clothed  with  His  righteousness,  they  keep  their 
Feast  of  Tabernacles. 

A  most  important  and  interesting  question  connected 
with  this  vision  has  still  to  be  answered.  It  may  be 
first  asked  in  the  words  of  Isaac  Williams.  "It  is 
whether  all  this  description  is  of  the  Church  in  heaven 
or   on    earth."      The    same    writer    has    answered   his 

*  Isa.  xii.  3.  ^  John  viii.  12. 


vii.9-i7-]       THE  PALM-BEARING  MULTITUDE.  127 

question  by  saying,  "  The  fact  is  that,  Hke  the  expres- 
sion '  the  kingdom  of  heaven,'  and  many  others  of  the 
same  kind,  it  appHes  to  both,  and  it  is  doubtless  intended 
to  do  so — in  fulness  hereafter,  but  even  here  in  part."  ^ 
The  answer  thus  given  is  no  doubt  correct  when  the 
question  is  asked  in  the  particular  form  to  which  it  is 
a  reply.  Yet  we  have  still  to  ask  whether,  granting  it 
to  be  so,  the  primary  reference  of  the  vision  is  to  the 
Church  of  Christ  during  her  present  pilgrimage  or 
after  that  pilgrimage  has  been  completed,  and  she  has 
entered  on  her  eternal  rest.  To  the  question  so  put, 
the  reply  usually  given  is  that  the  Seer  has  the  latter 
aspect  of  the  Church  in  view.  The  redeemed  are  sealed 
on  earth;  they  bear  their  ''palms,"  and  rejoice  with 
the  joy  afterwards  spoken  of,  in  heaven.  Much  in  the 
passage  may  seem  to  justify  this  conclusion.  But  a 
recent  writer  on  the  subject  has  adduced  such  power- 
ful considerations  in  favour  of  the  former  view,  that  it 
will  be  proper  to  examine  them.^ 

Appeal  is  first  made  to  Matt.  xxiv.  13,  a  passage 
throwing  no  light  upon  the  point.  It  is  otherwise  with 
many  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  next  referred 
to,  which  describe  the  coming  dispensation  of  the 
Gospel:  ''They  shall  not  hunger  nor  thirst;  neither 
shall  the  heat  nor  sun  smite  them  :  for  He  that  hath 
mercy  on  them  shall  lead  them,  even  by  the  springs  of 
water  shall  He  guide  them;"  ^' He  will  swallow  up 
death  in  victory ;  and  the  Lord  God  will  wipe  away 
tears  from  off  all  faces  ;"  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  every  one  that  is  left  of  all  the  nations  which 
came  against  Jerusalem  shall  even  go  up  from  year  to 
year  to  worship  the  King^   the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  to 

'  The  Apocalypse,  p.  126. 

2  Piofcsscr  Gibson,  in  The  Monthly  Interpreter^  vol  ii.j  p.  9. 


128  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

keep  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles."^  To  passages  such 
as  these  have  to  be  added  the  promises  of  our  Lord 
as  to  fountains  of  living  waters  even  now  opened  to 
the  believer,  that  he  may  drink  and  never  thirst  again : 
*^  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her,  Every  one  that 
drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again  :  but  whoso- 
ever drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall 
never  thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him 
shall  become  in  him  a  springing  fountain  of  water, 
unto  eternal  life  ; "  '*  Now  on  the  last  day,  the  great 
day  of  the  feast,  Jesus  stood  and  cried,  saying,  If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  Me,  and  drink.  He 
that  believeth  on  Me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  out 
of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  ^  St. 
John,  too,  it  is  urged,  teaches  us  to  look  for  a  Tabernacle 
Feast  on  earth  ^ ;  while  at  the  same  time  throughout 
all  his  writings  eternal  life  is  set  before  us  as  a  present 
possession.  Nor  is  this  the  case  only  in  the  writings 
of  St.  John.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  we  meet 
the  same  line  of  thought :  "Ye  are  come"  (not  Ye  shall 
come)  '^  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  innumerable  hosts 
of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the 
first-born,  who  are  enrolled  in  heaven."  ^  Influenced 
by  these  considerations,  the  writer  to  whom  we  have 
referred  is  led,  "  though  not  without  some  hesitation," 
to  conclude  that  the  vision  of  the  palm-bearing  multitude 
is  to  be  understood  of  the  Church  on  earth,  and  not  of 
the  Church  in  heaven. 

The  conclusion  may  be  accepted  without  the  ^'  hesita- 
tion." The  colours  on  the  canvas  may  indeed  at  first 
appear  too^  bright  for  any  condition  of  things  on  this 

*  Isa.  xlix.  10 ;  xxv.  8;  Zech.  xiv.  l6.  ^  John  i.  14. 

*  John  iv.  13,  14;  vii.  37   38,  ^  Hcb.  xii.  22,  23. 


vii.Q-i;-]       THE  PALM-BEARING  MULTITUDE.  129 

side  the  grave.  But  they  are  not  more  bright  than 
those  employed  in  the  description  of  the  new  Jerusalem 
in  chap.  xxi. ;  and,  when  we  come  to  the  exposition 
of  that  chapter,  we  shall  find  positive  proof  in  the 
language  of  the  Seer  that  he  looks  upon  that  city  as 
one  already  come  down  from  heaven  and  established 
among  men.  Not  a  few  of  its  most  glowing  traits  are 
even  precisely  the  same  as  those  that  we  meet  in  the 
corresponding  vision  of  this  chapter:  "And  I  heard 
a  great  voice  out  of  the  throne  saying,  Behold,  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  shall  tabernacle 
with  them,  and  they  shall  be  His  peoples,  and  God 
Himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God  ;  and 
He  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes ;  and 
death  shall  be  no  more ;  neither  shall  there  be  mourning, 
nor  crying,  nor  pain,  any  more:  the  first  things  are 
passed  away."-^  If  words  like  these  may  be  justly  applied, 
as  we  have  yet  to  see  that  they  may  and  must  be,  to 
one  aspect  of  the  Church  on  earth,  there  is  certainly 
nothing  to  hinder  their  application  to  the  same  Church 
now.  The  truth  is  that  in  both  cases  the  description 
is  ideal,  and  that  not  less  so  than  the  description  of  the 
terrors  of  the  worldly  at  the  opening  of  the  sixth  Seal. 
Nor  indeed  shall  we  understand  any  part  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse unless  we  recognise  the  fact  that  everything 
with  which  it  is  concerned  is  raised  to  an  ideal  standard. 
Reward  and  punishment,  righteousness  and  sin,  the 
martyrdoms  of  the  Church  and  the  fate  of  her  oppressors, 
are  all  set  before  us  in  an  ideal  light.  The  Seer  moves 
in  the  midst  of  conceptions  which  are  fundamental, 
ultimate,  and  eternal.  The  ''  broken  lights  "  which  par- 
tially illuminate  our  progress  in  this  world  are  to  him 

*  Chap,  xxi  3,  4, 


I30  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELA  TION. 

absorbed  in  ''  the  true  Light."  The  clouds  and  dark- 
ness which  obscure  our  path  gather  themselves 
together  to  his  eyes  in  "the  darkness"  with  which 
the  light  has  to  contend.  Descriptions,  accordingly, 
applicable  in  their  fulness  to  the  Church  only  after 
the  glory  of  her  Lord  is  manifested,  apply  also  to  her 
now,  when  she  is  thought  of  as  living  the  life  that  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God,  the  life  of  her  exalted  and 
glorified  Redeemer.  For  this  conception  the  colours 
of  the  picture  before  us  are  not  too  bright.^ 

The  relation  in  which  the  two  visions  of  this  chapter 
stand  to  one  another  may  now  be  obvious.  Although 
the  persons  referred  to  are  in  both  the  same,  they  do 
not  in  both  occupy  the  same  position.  In  the  first 
they  are  only  sealed,  and  through  that  sealing  they  are 
safe.  Their  Lord  has  taken  them  under  His  protec- 
tion ;  and,  whatever  troubles  or  perils  may  beset  them, 
no  one  shall  pluck  them  out  of  His  hand.  In  the 
second  they  are  more  than  safe.  They  have  peace, 
and  joy,  and  triumph,  their  every,  want  supplied,  their 
every  sorrow  healed.  Death  itself  is  swallowed  up  in 
victory,  and  every  tear  is  wiped  from  every  eye. 

Thus  also  may  we  determine  the  period  to  which,- 
both  the  sealing  of  believers  and  their,  subsequent 
enjoyment  of  heavenly  blessing  belong.  In  neither 
vision  are  we  introduced  to  any  special  era  of  Christian 
history.  St.  John  has  in  view  neither  the  Christians 
of  his  own  day  alojie,  nor  those  of  any  later  tim.e. 
As  we  found  that  each  of  the  first  six  Seals  embraced 
the  whole  Gospel  age,  so  also  is  it  with  these  con- 
solatory visions.  We  are  to  dwell  upon  the  thought 
rather  than  the  time  of  preservation  and   of  bliss.      The 

*  Comp.  on  the  general  thought  Brown,  The  Second  Adveni,  chap.  vi. 


vii.9-i7.]       THE  PALM-BEARING  MULTITUDE.  131 

Church  of  Christ  never  ceases  to  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  her  Lord.  Like  Him,  when  faithful  to  her  high 
commission,  she  never  ceases  to  bear  the  cross.  The 
unredeemed  world  must  always  be  her  enemy  ;  and  in 
it  she  must  always  have  tribulation.  But  not  less  con- 
tinuous is  her  joy.  We  judge  wrongly  when  we  think 
that  the  Man  of  sorrows  was  never  joyful.  He  spoke 
of  ^'  My  peace,"  ''  My  joy."^  In  one  of  His  moments 
of  deepest  feeling  we  are  told  that  He  "  rejoiced  in 
spirit."  ^  Outwardly  the  world  troubled  Him ;  and 
huge  billows,  raised  by  its  tempestuous  winds,  swept 
across  the  surface  of  His  soul.  Beneath,  the  unfathomed 
depths  were  calm.  In  communion  with  His  Father  in 
heaven,  in  the  thought  of  the  great  work  which  He  was 
carrying  to  its  completion,  and  in  the  prospect  of  the 
glory  that  awaited  Him,  He  could  rejoice  in  the  midst 
of  sorrow.  So  also  with  the  members  of  His  Body. 
They  bear  about  with  them  a  secret  joy  which,  like 
their  new  name,  no  man  knoweth  saving  he  that 
receiveth  it.  As  the  friend  of  the  bridegroom  who 
standeth  and  heareth  him  rejoices  greatly  because  of 
the  bridegroom's  voice,  so  their  joy  is  fulfilled.^  Nor 
does  it  ever  cease  to  be  theirs  while  their  Lord  is  with 
them ;  and  unless  they  grieve  Him  "  lo,  He  is  always 
with  them,  even  unto  the  consummation  of  the  age."* 
The  two  visions,  therefore,  of  the  sealing  and  of  the 
palm-bearing  multitude  embrace  the  whole  Christian 
dispensation  within  their  scope,  and  express  ideas 
which  belong  to  the  condition  of  the  believer  in  all 
places  and  at  all  times. 

*  John  xiv.  27 ;  xvii.  13.  "  John  iii.  29. 

•  Luke  X.  21.  *  Matt,  xxviii.  20, 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FIRST  SIX  TRUMPETS. 
Rev.  viii,,  ix. 

THE  two  consolatory  visions  of  chap.  vii.  have 
closed,  and  the  Seer  returns  to  that  opening  of 
the  seven  Seals  which  had  been  interrupted  in  order 
that  these  two  visions  might  be  interposed. 

Six  Seals  had  been  opened  in  chap.  vi. ;  the  opening 
of  the  seventh  follows  :— 

And  when  He  opened  the  seventh  seal,  there  followed  silence 
in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour.  And  I  saw  the  seven 
angels  which  stand  before  God  ;  and  there  were  given  unto  them 
seven  trumpets.  And  another  angel  came  and  stood  over  the  altar, 
having  a  golden  censer ;  and  there  was  given  unto  him  much  incense, 
that  he  should  give  it  unto  the  pra3'ers  of  all  the  saints  upon  the 
golden  altar  which  was  before  the  throne.  And  the  smoke  of  the 
incense,  with  the  praj^ers  of  the  saints,  went  up  before  God  out  of 
the  angel's  hand.  And  the  angel  taketh  the  censer ;  and  he  fillc  J 
it  with  the  fire  of  the  aitar,  and  cast  it  upon  the  earth  :  and  there 
followed  thunders,  and  voices,  and  lightnings,  and  an  earthquake. 
And  the  seven  angels  which  had  the  seven  trumpets  prepared  them- 
selves to  sound  (viii.  1-6). 

Before  looking  at  the  particulars  of  this  Seal,  we  have 
to  determine  the  relation  in  which  it  stands  to  the  Seals 
of  chap.  vi.  as  well  as  to  the  visions  following  it. 
Is  it  as  isolated,  as  independent,  as  those  that  have 
come  before  it ;  and  are  its  contents  exhausted  by 
the  first  six  verses  of  the  (hap'cr?  or  docs  it  occupy 


viii.  1-6.]  THE  FIRST  SIX  TRUMPETS.  133 

such  a  position  of  its  own  that  we  are  to  regard  the 
following  visions  as  developed  out  of  it  ?  And  if  the 
latter  be  the  case,  how  far  does  the  development  extend? 

In  answering  these  questions,  it  can  hardly  be  denied 
that  if  we  are  to  look  upon  the  seventh  Seal  as  standing 
independent  and  alone,  its  contents  have  not  the  sig- 
nificance which  we  seem  entitled  to  expect.  It  is  the 
last  Seal  of  its  own  series ;  and  when  w^e  turn  to  the 
last  member  of  the  Trumpet  series  at  chap.  xi.  15,  or 
of  the  Bowl  series  at  chap,  xvi,  17,  we  find  them  marked, 
not  by  less,  but  by  much  greater,  force  than  had 
belonged  in  either  case  to  the  six  preceding  members. 
The  seventh  Trumpet  and  the  seventh  Bowl  sum  up 
arid  concentrate  the  contents  of  their  predecessors. 
In  the  one  the  judgments  of  God  represented  by  the 
Trumpets,  in  the  other  those  represented  by  the  Bowls, 
culminate  in  their  sharpest  expression  and  their  most 
tremendous  potency.  There  is  nothing  of  that  kind 
in  the  seventh  Seal  if  it  terminates  with  the  preparation 
of  the  Trumpet  angels  to  sound  ;  and  the  analog}^  of  the 
Apocalypse  therefore,  an  analogy  supplying  in  a  book 
feo  symmetrically  constructed  an  argument  of  greater 
than  ordinary  weight,  is  against  that  supposition. 

Again,  the  larger  portion  of  the  first  six  verses  of 
this  chapter  does  not  suggest  the  contents  of  the  Seal. 
Rather  would  it  seem  as  if  these  contents  were  confined 
to  the  "silence"  spoken  of  in  ver.  I,  and  as  if  what 
follows  from  ver.  2  to  ver.  6  were  to  be  regarded  as 
no  part  of  the  Seal  itself,  but  simply  as  introductory 
to  the  Trumpet  visions.  Everything  said  bears  upon 
it  the  marks  of  preparation  for  what  is  to  come,  and 
we  are  not  permitted  to  rest  in  what  is  passing  as  if  it 
were  a  final  and  conclusive  scene  in  the  great  spectacle 
presented  to  the  Seer. 


134  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

For  these  reasons  the  view  often  entertained  that 
the  visions  to  which  we  proceed  are  developed  out  of 
the  seventh  Seal  ma}^  be  regarded  as  correct. 

If  so,  how  far  does  the  development  extend  ?  The 
answer  invariably  given  to  this  question  is,  To  the  end 
of  the  Trumpets.  But  the  answer  is  not  satisfactory. 
The  general  symmetry  of  the  Apocalypse  militates 
against  it.  There  is  then  no  correspondence  between 
the  last  Trumpet  and  the  last  Seal,  nothing  to  suggest 
the  thought  of  a  development  of  the  Bowls  out  of  the 
seventh  Trumpet  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  the 
development  of  the  Trumpets  out  of  the  seventh  Seal. 
In  these  circumstances  the  only  probable  conclusion  is 
that  both  the  Bowls  and  the  Trumpets  are  developed 
out  of  the  seventh  Seal,  and  that  that  development  does 
not  close  until  we  reach  the  end  of  chap.  xvi. 

If  what  has  now  been  said  be  correct,  it  will  throw 
important  light  upon  the  relation  of  the  Seals  to  the  two 
series  of  the  Trumpets  and  the  Bowls  taken  together; 
while,  at  the  same  time,  it  will  lend  us  valuable  aid 
in  the  interpretation  of  all  the  three  series. 

Returning  to  the  words  before  us,  it  is  said  that,  at 
the  opening  of  the  seventh  Seal,  there  followed  silence 
in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour.  This  silence 
may  perhaps  include  a  cessation  even  of  the  songs 
which  rise  before  the  throne  of  God  from  that  redeemed 
creation  the  voice  of  whose  praise  rests  not  either  day 
or  night.^  Yet  it  is  not  necessary  to  think  so.  The 
probability  rather  is  that  it  arises  from  a  cessation  only 
of  the  "lightnings  and  voices  and  thunders"  which 
at  chap.  iv.  5  proceed  out  of  the  throne,  and  which 
are  resumed  at  ver.  5  of  the  present  chapter,  when  the 

*  Chap.  iv.  8. 


viii.  1-6.]  THE  FIRST  SIX   TRUMPETS.  135 


fire  of  the  altar  is  cast  from  the  angel's  censer  upon 
the  earth.  A  brief  suspension  of  judgment  is  thereby 
indicated,  a  pause  by  and  during  which  the  Almighty 
would  call  attention  to  the  manifestations  of  His  wrath 
about  to  follow.  The  exact  duration  of  this  silence, 
*'  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour,"  has  never  been 
satisfactorily  explained  ;  and  the  general  analogy  of  St. 
John's  language  condemns  the  idea  of  a  literal  inter- 
pretation. We  shall  perhaps  be  more  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  in  which  the  Revelation  is  written  if  we 
consider — (l)  that  in  that  book  the  half  of  anything 
suggests,  not  so  much  an  actual  half,  as  a  broken  and 
interrupted  whole, — five  a  broken  ten,  six  a  broken 
twelve,  three  and  a  half  a  broken  seven ;  (2)  that  in 
the  Gospel  of  St.  John  we  find  on  m^ore  than  one 
occasion  mention  made  of  an  '*  hour  "  by  which  at  one 
time  the  actions,  at  another  the  sufferings,  of  Jesus  are 
determined  :  '^  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ? 
Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come;"  ''Father,  save  Me  from 
this  hour :  but  for  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour."^ 
The  "  hour  "  of  Jesus  is  thus  to  St.  John  the  moment 
at  which  action,  having  been  first  resolved  on  by  the 
Father,  is  taken  by  the  Son;  and  a  ''half-hour"  may 
simply  denote  that  the  course  of  events  has  been  in- 
terrupted, and  that  the  instant  for  renewed  judgment 
has  been  delayed.  Such  an  interpretation  will  also 
be  in  close  correspondence  with  the  verses  following, 
as  well  as  with  what  we  have  seen  to  be  the  probable 
meaning  of  the  "  silence  "  of  ver.  i.  Preparation  for 
action,  rather  than  action,  marks  as  yet  the  opening  of 
the  seventh  Seal. 

That  preparation  is  next  described. 

'  John  ii.  4 ;  xii.  27. 


136  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

St.  John  saw  seven  trumpets  given  to  the  seven  angels 
which  stand  before  God.  In  whatever  other  respects 
these  seven  angels  are  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
hosts  of  angels  which  surround  the  throne,  the  com- 
mission now  given  shows  that  they  are  angels  of  a 
more  exalted  order  and  a  more  irresistible  power. 
They  are  in  fact  the  expression  of  the  Divine  Judge 
of  men,  or  rather  of  the  mode  in  which  He  chooses 
by  judgment  to  express  Himself.  We  are  not  even 
required  to  think  of  them  as  numerically  seven,  for 
seven  in  its  sacred  meaning  is  the  number  of  unity, 
though  of  unity  in  the  variety  as  well  as  the  combina- 
tion of  its  agencies.  The  "  seven  Spirits  of  God " 
are  His  one  Spirit ;  the  ^'  seven  churches,"  His  one 
Church;  the  ^' seven  horns"  and  "seven  eyes"  of  the 
Lamb,  His  one  powerful  might  and  His  one  penetrating 
glance.  In  like  manner  the  seven  Seals,  the  seven 
Trumpets,  and  the  seven  Bowls  embody  the  thought  of 
many  judgments  which  are  yet  in  reality  one.  Thus 
also  the  angels  here  are  seven,  not  because  literally  so, 
but  because  that  number  brings  out  the  varied  forms 
as  well  as  the  essential  oneness  of  the  action  of  Him 
to  whom  the  Father  has  given  "  authority  to  execute 
judgment,  because  He  is  a  Son  of  man."^ 

As  yet  the  seven  trumpets  have  only  been  given  to 
the  seven  angels.  More  has  to  pass  before  they  put 
them  to  their  Hps  and  sound.  Another  angel  is  seen 
who  came  and  stood  over  the  altar,  having  a  golden  censer 
in  his  hand.  At  the  opening  of  the  fifth  Seal  we  read 
of  an  "altar"  w^hich  it  was  impossible  not  to  identify 
with  the  great  brazen  altar,  the  altar  of  burnt-offering, 
in  the  outer  court  of  the  sanctuary.     Such  identification 


John  V.  27. 


viii.  1-6.]  THE  FIRST  SIX   TRUMPETS.  137 

is  not  so  obvious  here;  and  perhaps  a  majority  of  com- 
mentators agree  in  thinking  that  the  altar  now  spoken 
of  is  rather  the  golden  or  incense  altar  which  had  its 
place  within  the  Tabernacle,  immediately  in  front  of 
the  second  veil.  To  this  altar  the  priest  on  ordinary 
occasions,  and  more  particularly  the  high-priest  on  the 
great  Day  of  Atonement,  brought  a  censer  with  burning 
frankincense,  that  the  smoke  of  the  incense,  as  it  rose 
into  the  air,  might  be  a  symbol  to  the  congregation  of 
Israel  that  its  prayers,  offered  according  to  the  Divine 
will,  ascended  as  a  sweet  savour  to  God.  It  is  possible 
that  this  may  be  the  altar  meant ;  yet  the  probabilities 
of  the  case  rather  lead  to  the  supposition  that  allusion 
is  made  to  the  altar  of  sacrifice  in  the  Tabernacle 
court;  for  (i)  when  the  Seer  speaks  here  and  again 
in  ver.  5  of  "  the  altar,"  and  in  ver.  3  of  ''  the  golden 
altar,"  he  seems  to  distinguish  between  the  two.  (2) 
The  words  fire  of  the  altar  are  in  favour  of  the  same 
conclusion.  According  to  the  ritual  of  the  Law,  it  was 
from  the  brazen  altar  that  fire  was  taken  in  order  to 
kindle  the  incense,^  while  at  the  same  time  fire  con- 
tinually burned  upon  that  altar,  but  not  upon  the  altar 
within  the  Tabernacle.  (3)  The  thought  represented 
by  the  symbolism  seems  to  be  that  the  sufferings  of  the 
saints  gave  efficacy  to  their  prayers,  and  drew  down 
the  answer  of  Him  who  says,  "  Call  upon  Me  in  the  day 
of  trouble,  and  I  will  answer  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
glorify  Me."^  (4)  The  words  of  ver.  3,  the  prayers  of 
all  the  saints,  and  the  similar  expression  in  ver.  4, 
remind  us  of  the  prayers  of  the  fifth  Seal,  now  swelled 
by  the  prayers  of  those  New  Testament  saints  who 
have  been  added  to   "  the  blessed   fellowship "   of  the 

*  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  In'cense.  ^  Ps.  1.  15. 


138  TEE  BOOK  OF  KEVELATiON. 

Old  Testament  martyrs.  These  prayers,  it  will  be 
remembered,  rose  from  beneath  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offering;  and  it  is  natural  to  think  that  the  same  altar 
is  again  alluded  to  in  order  to  bring  out  the  idea  of 
a  similar  martyrdom.  What  we  see,  therefore,  is  an 
angel  taking  the  prayers  and  adding  to  them  much 
incense,  so  that  we  may  behold  them  as  they  ascend  up 
before  God  and  receive  His  answer. 

Further,  it  ought  to  be  observed  that  the  prayers 
referred  to  are  for  judgment  upon  sin.  There  is 
nothing  to  justify  the  supposition  that  they  are  partly 
for  judgment  upon,  partly  for  mercy  to,  a  sinful  world. 
They  are  simply  another  form  of  the  cry,  "  How  long, 
O  Master,  the  holy  and  true,  dost  Thou  not  judge  and 
avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?"^ 
They  are  a  cry  that  God  will  vindicate  the  cause  of 
righteousness.  ^ 

The  cry  is  heard,  for  the  angel  takes  of  the  fire 
of  the  altar  on  which  the  saints  had  been  sacrificed 
as  an  offering  to  God,  and  casts  it  into  the  earth,  that 
it  may  consume  the  sin  by  which  it  had  been  kindled. 
The  lex  talionis  again  starts  to  view ;  not  merely  punish- 
ment, but  retribution,  the  heaviest  of  all  retribution, 
because  it  is  accompanied  by  a  convicted  conscience, 
retribution  in  kind. 

Everything  is  now  ready  for  judgment,  and  the  seven 
angels  which  had  the  seven  trumpets  prepare  themselves  to 
sound : — 

And  the  first  sounded,  and  there  followed  hail  and  fire  mingled 
with  blocd,  and  they  were  cast  into  the  earth  :  and  the  thiid  part  of 
the  earth  was  burnt  up,  and  the  third  part  of  the  trees  was  burnt  up, 
and  all  green  grass  was  burnt  up  (viii.  7). 


»  Chap.  vi.  10.  ^  Comp.  p.   103. 


viii.7.]  THE  FIRST  SIX  TRUMPETS.  139 


To  think,  in  interpreting  these  words,  of  a  literal 
burning  up  of  a  third  part  of  the  '*  earth,"  of  the 
*'  trees,"  and  of  the  "  green  grass,"  would  lead  us  astray. 
Comparing  the  first  Trumpet  with  those  that  follow, 
we  have  simply  a  general  description  of  judgment  as 
it  affects  the  land  in  contradistinction  to  the  sea,  the 
rivers  and  fountains  of  water,  and  the  heavenly  bodies 
by  which  the  earth  is  lighted.  The  punishment  is 
drawn  down  by  a  guilty  world  upon  itself  when  it 
rises  in  opposition  to  Him  who  at  first  prepared  the 
land  for  the  abode  of  men,  planted  it  with  trees 
pleasant  to  the  eye,  cast  over  it  its  mantle  of  green, 
and  pronounced  it  to  be  very  good.  Of  every  tree  of 
the  garden,  except  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  might  our  first  parents  eat;  while  grass 
covered  the  earth  for  their  cattle,  and  herb  for  their 
service.  All  nature  was  to  minister  to  the  wants  of 
man,  and  in  cultivating  the  garden  and  the  field  he 
was  to  find  light  and  happy  labour.  But  sin  came  in. 
Thorns  and  thistles  sprang  up  on  every  side.  Labour 
became  a  burden,  and  the  fruitful  field  was  changed 
into  a  wilderness  which  could  only  be  subdued  by 
constant,  patient,  and  often-disappointed  toil.  This  is 
the  thought — a  thought  often  dwelt  upon  by  the 
prophets  of  the  Old  Testament — that  is  present  to  the 
Seer's  mind. 

One  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  however,  may  also  be 
in  his  eye.  When  the  Almighty  would  deliver  His 
people  from  that  land  of  their  captivity,  *'He  sent 
thunder  and  hail,  and  the  fire  ran  along  upon  the 
ground ;  and  the  Lord  rained  hail  upon  the  land  of 
Egypt.  So  there  was  hail,  and  fire  mingled  with  the 
hail,  very  grievous.  .  .  .  And  the  hail  smote  throughout 
all  the  land  of  Egypt  all   that  was  in  the  field,  both 


I40  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION.      . 

man  and  beast ;  and  the  hail  smote  every  herb  of  the 
field,  and  broke  every  tree  of  the  field."  ^  That  plague 
the  Seer  has  in  his  mind  ;  but  he  is  not  content  to 
use  its  traits  alone,  terrible  as  they  were.  The  sin  of 
a  guilty  world  in  refusing  to  listen  to  Him  who  speaks 
from  heaven  is  greater  than  was  the  sin  of  those  who 
refused  Him  that  spake  on  earth,  and  their  punishment 
must  be  in  proportion  to  their  sin.  Hence  the  plague 
of  Egypt  is  magnified.  We  read,  not  of  hail  and  fire 
only,  but  of  hail  and  fire  mingled  with  (or  rather  in^ 
blood,  so  that  the  blood  is  the  outward  and  visible 
covering  of  the  hail  and  of  the  fire.  In  addition  to 
this,  we  have  the  herbs  and  trees  of  the  field,  not 
merel}^  smitten  and  broken,  but  utterly  consumed  by 
fire.  What  is  meant  by  the  "  third  part "  of  the  earth 
and  its  products  being  attacked  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
The  probability  is  that,  as  a  whole  consists  of  three 
parts,  partial  destruction  only  is  intended,  yet  not 
destruction  of  a  third  part  of  the  earth,  leaving  two-thirds 
untouched ;  but  a  third  part  of  the  earth  and  of  its 
produce  is  everywhere  consumed. 

The  second  Trumpet  is  now  blown  : — 

And  the  second  angel  sounded,  and  as  it  were  a  great  mountain 
burning  with  fire  was  cast  into  the  sea  :  and  the  third  part  of  the  sea 
became  blood  ;  and  there  died  the  third  part  of  the  creatures  which 
were  in  the  sea,  even  they  that  had  life ;  and  the  third  part  of  the 
ships  was  destroyed  (viii.  8,  9). 

As  the  first  Trumpet  affected  the  land,  so  the  second 
affects  the  sea;  and  the  remarks  already  made  upon  the 
one  destruction  are  for  the  most  part  applicable  to 
the  other.  The  figure  of  removing  a  mountain  from 
its  place  and  casting  it  into  the  sea  was  used   by  our 

'  Exod.  ix.  23-25. 


viii.8,9.]  THE  FIRST  SIX   TRUMPETS.  141 

Lord  to  express  what  beyond  all  else  it  was  impossible  to 
accomplish  by  mere  human  power :  "  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  If  ye  have  faith,  and  doubt  not,  ye  shall  not  only 
do  what  is  done  to  the  fig  tree,  but  even  if  ye  shall  say 
unto  this  mountain,  Be  thou  taken  up  and  cast  into  the 
sea,  it  shall  be  done."  ^  In  so  speaking,  our  Lord  had 
followed  the  language  of  the  prophets,  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  illustrate  by  the  thought  of  the  removal  of 
mountains  the  greatest  acts  of  Divine  power  :  '*  What 
art  thou,  O  great  mountain  ?  before  Zerubbabel  thou 
shalt  become  a  plain ; "  "  Therefore  will  we  not  fear, 
though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the 
seas."  ^ 

Even  the  figure  of  a  "  burnt  mountain "  is  not 
strange  to  the  Old  Testament,  for  the  prophet  Jeremiah 
thus  denounces  woe  on  Babylon :  ^'  Behold,  I  am 
against  thee,  O  destroying  mountain,  saith  the  Lord, 
which  destroyest  all  the  earth :  and  I  will  stretch  out 
Mine  hand  upon  thee,  and  roll  thee  down  from  the  rocks, 
and  make  thee  a  burnt  mountain."  * 

The  plagues  of  Egypt,  too,  are  again  taken  advantage 
of  by  the  Seer,  for  in  the  first  of  these  Moses  "  lifted  up 
the  rod,  and  smote  the  waters  that  were  in  the  river; 
.  .  .  and  all  the  waters  that  were  in  the  river  were 
turned  to  blood.  And  the  fish  that  was  in  the  river 
died  ;  and  the  river  stank,  and  the  Egyptians  could  not 
drink  of  the  water  of  the  river ;  and  there  was  blood 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt."*  Here,  however, 
the  plague  is  extended,  embracing  as  it  does  not  only 
the  river  of  Egypt,  but  the  sea,  with  all  the  ships  that 
sail  upon  it,  and  all  its  fish.  Again  also,  as  before,  the 
'^  third  part "  is  not  to  be  thought  of  as  confined  to  one 

^  Matt.  xxi.  21.  »  Jer.  li.  25. 

*  Zech.  iv.  7 ;  Ps.  xlvi.  2.  *  Exod.  vii.  20,  21, 


142  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

region  of  the  ocean,  while  the  remaining  two-thirds  are 
left  untouched.  It  is  to  be  sought  everywhere  over  the 
whole  compass  of  the  deep. 

The  third  Trumpet  is  now  blown  :— 

And  the  third  angel  sounded,  and  there  fell  from  heaven  a  great 
star,  burning  as  a  torch,  and  it  fell  upon  the  third  part  of  the  rivers, 
and  upon  the  fountains  of  the  waters ;  and  the  name  of  the  star  is 
called  Wormwood  :  and  the  third  part  of  the  waters  became  worm- 
wood ;  and  many  men  died  of  the  waters,  because  they  were  made 
bitter  (viii.  lo,  ii). 

The  third  Trumpet  is  to  be  understood  upon  the 
same  principles  and  in  the  same  general  sense  as  the 
two  preceding  Trumpets.  The  figures  are  again  such 
as  meet  us  in  the  Old  Testament,  though  they  are  used 
by  the  Seer  in  his  own  free  and  independent  way. 
Thus  the  prophet  Isaiah,  addressing  Babylon  in  his 
magnificent  description  of  her  fall,  exclaims,  *'  How  art 
thou  fallen  from  heaven,  O  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morn- 
ing !  "*  and  thus  also  the  prophet  Jeremiah  denounces 
judgment  upon  rebellious  Israel :  "  Therefore  thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel ;  Behold,  I  will  feed 
them,  even  this  people,  with  wormwood,  and  give  them 
water  of  gall  to  drink."  ^  The  bitter  waters  of  Marah  also 
lived  in  the  recollections  of  Israel  as  the  first,  and  not 
the  least  terrible,  punishment  of  the  murmuring  of  their 
fathers  against  Him  who  had  brought  them  out  into 
what  seemed  but  a  barren  wilderness,  instead  of  leaving 
them  to  quench  their  thirst  by  the  sweet  waters  of  the 
Nile.^  Thus  the  waters  which  the  world  offers  to  its 
votaries  are  made  bitter,  so  bitter  that  they  become 
wormwood  itself,  the  very  essence  of  bitterness.  Again 
the  ^*  third  .part"  of  them  is  thus  visited,  but  this  time 

*  Isa.  xiv.  12.  2  jer.  ix.  15.  «  Exod,  xv.  23. 


viii.  12.]  THE  FIRST  SIX  TRUMPETS.  143 

with  a  feature  not  previously  mentioned  :  the  destruction 
of  human  life, — many  men  died  of  the  waters.  Under 
the  first  Trumpet  only  inanimate  nature  was  affected ; 
under  the  second  we  rose  to  creatures  that  had  life; 
under  the  third  we  rise  to  "  many  men."  The  climax 
ought  to  be  noticed,  as  illustrating  the  style  of  the 
Apostle's  thought  and  aiding  us  in  the  interpretation 
of  his  words.  A  similar  cHmax  may  perhaps  also  be 
intended  by  the  agents  successively  employed  under 
these  Trumpets  :  hail  and  fire,  a  great  mountain 
burning,  and  a  falling  star. 

The  fourth  Trumpet  is  now  blown  : — 

And  the  fourth  angel  sounded,  and  the  third  part  of  the  sun  was 
smitten,  and  the  third  part  of  the  moon,  and  the  third  part  of  the 
stars ;  that  the  third  part  of  them  should  be  darkened,  and  the  day- 
should  not  shine  for  the  third  part  of  it,  and  the  night  in  like 
manner  (viii.  12). 

This  Trumpet  offers  no  contradiction  to  what  was  pre- 
viously said, — that  the  first  four  members  of  the  three 
series  of  Seals,  of  Trumpets,  and  of  Bowls  deal  with 
the  material  rather  than  the  spiritual  side  of  man,  with 
man  as  a  denizen  of  this  world  rather  than  of  the  next.* 
The  heavenly  bodies  are  here  viewed  solely  in  their 
relation  to  earth  and  its  inhabitants.  As  to  the 
judgment,  it  rests,  like  those  of  the  first  and  second 
Trumpets,  upon  the  thought  of  the  Egyptian  plague  of 
darkness:  ''And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Stretch  out 
thine  hand  toward  heaven,  that  there  may  be  darkness 
over  the  land  of  Egypt,  even  darkness  that  may  be  felt. 
And  Moses  stretched  forth  his  hand  toward  heaven  ; 
and  there  was  a  thick  darkness  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt 
three  days  :  they  saw  not  one  another,  neither  rose  any 

*  Comp.  p.  97. 


144  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


from  his  place  for  three  days :  but  all  the  children  of 
Israel  had  lights  in  their  dwellings."^  The  trait  of  the 
Eg3^ptian  plague  alluded  to  in  this  last  sentence  is  not 
mentioned  here;  and  we  have  probably,  therefore,  no 
right  to  say  that  it  was  in  the  Seer's  thoughts.  Yet  it  is 
in  a  high  degree  probable  that  it  was ;  and  at  all  events 
his  obvious  reference  to  that  plague  may  help  to  illustrate 
an  important  particular  to  be  afterwards  noticed, — that 
all  the  Trumpet  judgments  fall  ^directly  upon  the  world, 
and  not  the  Church.  As  under  the  first  three  Trumpets, 
the  third  part  of  the  light  of  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars 
is  alone  darkened. 

The  first  four  Trumpets  have  now  been  blown,  and 
we  reach  the  line  of  demarcation  by  which  each  series 
of  judgments  is  divided  into  its  groups  of  four  and 
three.  That  line  is  drawn  in  the  present  instance  with 
peculiar  solemnity  and  force  : — 

And  I  saw,  and  I  heard  an  eagle  flj'ing  in  mid-heaven,  saying 
with  a  great  voice.  Woe,  woe,  woe,  for  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth 
by  reason  of  the  other  voices  of  the  three  angels  who  are  yet  to 
sound  (viii.  13). 

Attention  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  fact  that  the  cry 
uttered  in  mid-heaven,  and  thus  penetrating  to  the  most 
distant  corners  of  the  earth,  proceeds  from  an  eagle, 
and  not,  as  in  the  Authorised  Version,  from  an  "angel ; " 
and  the  eagle  is  certainly  referred  to  for  the  purpose 
of  adding  fresh  terror  to  the  scene.  If  we  would 
enter  into  the  Seer's  mind,  we  must  think  of  it  as  the 
symbol  of  rapine  and  plunder.  To  him  the  prominent 
characteristic  of  that  bird  is  not  its  majesty,  but  its 
swiftness,  its  strength,  and  its  hasting  to  the  prey.^ 

*  Exod.  X.  21-23.  '  Comp.  Job  ix.  26. 


ix.  i-ii.]  THE  FIRST  SIX   TRUMPETS.  145 

Thus  ominously  announced,  the  fifth  Trumpet  is  now 
blown : — 

And  the  fifth  angel  sounded,  and  I  saw  a  star  out  of  heaven 
fallen  unto  the  earth :  and  there  was  given  to  him  the  key  of  the  well 
of  the  abyss.  And  he  opened  the  well  of  the  abyss  ;  and  there  went 
up  a  smoke  out  of  the  well,  as  the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace ;  and  the 
sun  and  the  air  were  darkened  by  reason  of  the  smoke  of  the  well. 
And  out  of  the  smoke  came  forth  locusts  upon  the  earth  :  and  power 
was  given  them,  as  the  scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power.  And  it  was 
said  unto  them  that  they  should  not  hurt  the  grass  of  the  earth,  neither 
any  green  thing,  neither  any  tree ;  but  only  such  men  as  have  not  the 
seal  of  God  on  their  foreheads.  And  it  was  given  them  that  they 
should  not  kill  them,  but  that  they  should  be  tormented  five  months  : 
and  their  torment  was  as  the  torment  of  a  scorpion,  when  it  striketh 
a  man.  And  in  those  days  men  shall  seek  death,  and  shall  in  no  wise 
find  it ;  and  they  shall  desire  to  die,  and  death  fleeth  from  them. 
And  the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like  unto  horses  prepared  for 
war,  and  upon  their  heads  as  it  were  crowns  like  unto  gold,  and 
their  faces  were  as  faces  of  men.  And  they  had  hair  as  the  hair  of 
women,  and  their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth  of  lions.  And  they  had 
breastplates,  as  it  were  breastplates  of  iron ;  and  the  sound  of  their 
wings  was  as  the  sound  of  chariots  of  many  horses  rushing  to  war. 
And  they  have  tails  like  unto  scorpions,  and  stings  :  and  in  their  tails 
is  their  power  to  hurt  men  five  months.  They  have  over  them  as 
king  the  angel  of  the  abyss  :  his  name  in  Hebrew  is  Abaddon,  and  in 
the  Greek  tongue  he  hath  the  name  ApoUyon  (ix.  I-II). 

Such  is  the  strange  but  dire  picture  of  the  judgment 
of  the  fifth  Trumpet ;  and  we  have,  as  usual,  in  the 
first  place,  to  look  at  the  particulars  contained  in  it. 
As  in  several  previous  instances,  these  are  founded 
upon  the  plagues  of  Egypt  and  the  language  of  the 
prophets.  In  both  these  sources  how  terrible  does  a 
locust  plague  appear  !  In  Egypt — "And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  Stretch  out  thine  hand  over  the  land  of 
Egypt  for  the  locusts,  that  they  may  come  up  upon 
the  land  of  Egypt,  and  eat  every  herb  of  the  land, 
even  all  that  the  hail  hath  left.  And  Moses  stretched 
forth  his  rod  over   the  land  of  Eg^pt,  and  the  Lord 

10 


146  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

brought  an  east  wind  upon  the  land  all  that  day, 
and  all  that  night;  and  when  it  was  morning,  the 
east  wind  brought  the  locusts.  And  the  locusts  went 
up  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  rested  in  all  the 
coasts  of  Egypt  :  very  grievous  were  they  ;  before  them 
there  were  no  such  locusts  as  they,  neither  after  them 
shall  be  such.  For  they  covered  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth,  so  that  the  land  was  darkened  ;  and  they  did 
eat  every  herb  of  the  land,  and  all  the  fruit  of  the 
trees  which  the  hail  had  left  :  and  there  remained  not 
any  green  thing  in  the  trees,  or  in  the  herbs  of  the 
field,  through  all  the  land  of  Egypt."  ^  Darker  even 
than  this  is  the  language  of  the  prophet  Joel.  When 
he  sees  locusts  sweeping  across  a  land,  he  exclaims, 
**  The  land  was  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before  them, 
and  behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness;"^  and  from 
their  irresistible  and  destructive  ravages  he  draws  not 
a  few  traits  of  the  dread  events  by  which  the  coming 
of  the  day  of  the  Lord  shall  be  accompanied  :  "  The 
appearance  of  them  is  as  the  appearance  of  horses ; 
and  as  horsemen,  so  shall  they  run.  Like  the  noise 
of  chariots  on  the  tops  of  mountains  shall  they  leap, 
like  the  noise  of  a  flame  of  fire  that  devoureth  the 
stubble,  as  a  strong  people  set  in  battle  array.  .  .  . 
They  shall  run  like  mighty  men ;  they  shall  climb 
the  wail  like  men  of  war;  and  they  shall  march  every 
one  on  his  ways,  and  they  shall  not  break  their 
ranks.  .  .  .  They  shall  run  to  and  fro  in  the  city ; 
they  shall  run  upon  the  wall,  they  shall  climb  up 
upon  the  houses ;  they  shall  enter  in  at  the  windows 
like  a  thief  The  earth  shall  quake  before  them  ;  the 
heavens  shall  trem.ble  :  the  sun  and  the  moon  shall 
be  dark,  and  the  stars  shall  withdraw  their  shining."^ 
'  Exod.  X.  12-15.  ^  Joel  ii.  3.  •  '  Joel  ii.  4-10. 


ix.  i-ii.]  THE  FIRST  SIX   TRUMPETS.  147 

It  is  no  doubt  true  that  in  the  description  before  us 
the  qualities  of  its  locusts  are  preternaturally  magnified, 
but  that  is  only  what  we  might  expect,  and  it  is  in 
keeping  with  the  mode  in  which  other  figures  taken 
from  the  Old  Testament  are  treated  in  this  book. 
There  is  a  probability,  too,  that  each  trait  of  the 
description  had  a  distinct  meaning  to  St.  John,  and  that 
it  represents  some  particular  phase  of  the  calamities 
he  intended  to  depict.  But  it  is  hardly  possible  now 
to  discover  such  meanings ;  and  that  the  Seer  had  in 
view  general  evil  as  much  at  least  as  evil  in  certain 
special  forms  is  shown  by  the  artificiality  of  structure 
marking  the  passage  as  a  whole.  For  the  description 
of  the  locusts  is  divided  into  three  parts,  the  first 
general,  the  second  special,  the  third  the  locust-king. 
The  special  characteristics  of  the  insects,  again,  are 
seven  in  number  :  (l)  upon  their  heads  as  it  were  crowns 
liJ^c  unto  gold;  (2)  and  their  faces  were  as  faces  of  men  ; 
(3)  and  they  had  hair  as  the  hair  of  women;  (4)  and 
their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth  of  lions;  (5)  and  they  had 
breastplates y  as  it  were  breastplates  of  iron;  (6)  and  the 
sound  of  their  wings  zvas  as  the  sound  of  many  chariots  ; 
(7)  and  they  have  tails  like  unto  scorpions,  and  stings. 

Whether  the  period  o{ five  months,  during  which  these 
locusts  are  said  to  commit  their  ravages,  is  fixed  on 
because  the  destruction  caused  by  the  natural  insect 
lasts  for  that  length  of  time,  or  for  some  other  reason 
unknown  to  us,  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  There  is 
a  want  of  proof  that  a  locust-plague  generally  continues 
for  the  number  of  months  thus  specified,  and  it  is 
otherwise  more  in  accordance  wath  the  style  of  the 
Apocalypse  to  regard  that  particular  period  of  time 
as  simply  denoting  that  the  judgment  has  definite 
limits. 


148  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

One  additional  particular  connected  with  the  fifth 
Trumpet  ought  to  be  adverted  to.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  well  of  the  abyss  whence  the  plague  proceeds 
is  opened  by  a  star  fallen  (not  "falling")  out  of  heaven^ 
to  which  the  key  of  the  well  was  given.  We  have  here 
one  of  those  contrasts  of  St.  John  a  due  attention  to 
^  which  is  of  such  importance  to  the  interpreter.  This 
"fallen  star"  is  the  contrast  and  counterpart  of  Him 
who  is  "  the  bright,  the  morning  star/'  and  who  "  has 
the  keys  of  death  and  of  Hades."  ^ 

At  this  point  the  sixth  angel  ought  to  sound;  but 
we  are  now  in  the  midst  of  the  three  last  woes,  and 
each  is  of  so  terrible  an  import  that  it  deserves  to 
be  specially  marked.  Hence  the  words  of  the  next 
verse : — 

The  first  Woe  is  past;  behold,  there  come  yet  two  Woes  here- 
after (ix.  12). 

This  warning  given,  the  sixth  Trumpet  is  now 
blown  : — 

And  the  sixth  angel  sounded,  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  the  horns 
of  the  golden  altar  which  is  before  God,  one  saying  to  the  sixth  angel 
which  had  the  trumpet,  Loose  the  four  angels  which  are  bound  at  the 
great  river  Euphrates.  And  the  four  angels  were  loosed,  which  had 
been  prepared  for  the  hour,  and  day,  and  month,  and  year,  that  they 
should  kill  the  third  part  of  men.  And  the  number  of  the  armies  of 
the  horsemen  was  twice  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  ;  I  heard 
the  number  of  them.  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses  in  the  vision,  and 
them  that  sat  on  them,  having  breastplates  as  of  fire,  and  of  hyacinth, 
and  of  brimstone.  By  these  three  plagues  was  the  third  part  of  men 
killed,  by  the  fire,  and  the  smoke,  and  the  brimstone,  which  proceeded 
out  of  their  mouths.  For  the  power  of  the  horses  is  in  their  mouth, 
and  in  their  tails :  for  their  tails  are  like  unto  serpents,  and  with 
them  they  do  hurt.  And  the  rest  of  mankind  which  were  not  killed 
with  these  plagues  repented  not  of  the  works  of  their  hands,  that 


*  Chaj:-s.  xxii.  16;  i.  18, 


ix.  13-21.]  THE  FIRST  SIX  TRUMPETS.  149 

they  should  not  worship  demons,  and  the  idols  of  gold,  and  of  silver, 
and  of  brass,  and  of  stone,  and  of  wood  :  which  can  neither  see,  nor 
hear  nor  walk  :  and  they  repented  not  of  their  murders,  nor  of  their 
sorceries,  nor  of  their  fornication,  nor  of  their  thefts  (ix.  13-21). 

There  is  much  in  this  Trumpet  that  is  remarkable 
even  while  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  more  outward 
,  particulars  contained  in  it.  Thus  we  are  brought  back 
by  it  to  the  thought  of  those  prayers  of  the  saints  to 
which  all  the  Trumpets  are  a  reply,  but  which  have  not 
been  mentioned  since  the  blowing  of  the  Trumpets 
began. ^  Once  more  we  read  of  the  golden  altar  which 
was  before  God,  in  His  immediate  presence.  On  that 
altar  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  had  been  laid,  that 
they  might  rise  to  heaven  with  the  much  incense  added 
by  the  angel,  and  might  be  answered  in  God's  own 
time  and  way.  The  voice  heard  from  the  four  horns  of 
this  altar — that  is,  from  the  four  projecting  points  at 
its  four  corners,  representing  the  altar  in  its  greatest 
potency — shows  us,  what  we  might  have  been  in  danger 
of  forgetting,  that  the  judgment  before  us  continues  to 
be  an  answer  of  the  Almighty  to  His  people's  prayers. 
Again  it  may  be  noticed  that  in  the  judgment  here 
spoken  of  we  deal  once  more  with  a  thu'd  part  of  the 
class  upon  which  it  falls.  Nothing  of  the  kind  had 
bten  said  under  the  fifth  Trumpet.  The  inference  to 
be  drawn  from  these  particulars  is  important.  We 
learn  that,  however  distinct  the  successive  members  of 
any  of  the  three  series  of  the  Seals,  the  Trumpets,  or 
the  Bowls  m^ay  seem  to  be,  they  are  yet  closely  con- 
nected with  one  another.  Though  seven  in  number, 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  they  are  also  one ;  and  any 
characteristic  thought  which  appears  in  a  single  member 

'  Vers.  3-5. 


I50  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  the  series  ought  to  be  carried  through  all  its 
members.^ 

The  judgment  itself  is  founded,  as  in  the  others 
already  considered,  upon  thoughts  and  incidents  con- 
nected with  Old  Testament  history. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  river  Euphrates.  That  great 
river  was  the  boundary  of  Palestine  upon  the  north- 
east. ^'  In  the  same  day  the  Lord  made  a  covenant 
with  Abram,  saying,  Unto  thy  seed  have  I  given 
this  land,  from  the  river  of  Egypt  unto  the  great  river, 
the  river  Euphrates ;  "^  and  in  the  days  of  Solomon  this 
part  of  the  covenant  appears  to  have  been  fulfilled,  for 
we  are  told  that  ''  Solomon  reigned  over  all  kingdoms 
from  the  river"  (that  is,  the  Euphrates)  ''unto  the  land 
of  the  Philistines,  and  unto  the  border  of  Egypt."^  The 
Euphrates,  however,  was  not  only  the  boundary 
between  Israel  and  the  Assyrians.  It  was  also  Israel's 
line  of  defence  against  its  powerful  and  ambitious 
neighbour,  who  had  to  cross  its  broad  stream  before 
he  could  seize  any  part  of  the  Promised  Land.  By  a 
natural  transition  of  thought,  the  Euphrates  next  became 
a  symbol  of  the  Assyrians  themselves,  for  its  waters, 
when  they  rose  in  flood,  overflowed  Israel's  territory 
and  swept  all  before  them.  Then  the  prophets  saw 
in  the  rush  of  the  swollen  river  a  figure  of  the  scourge 
of  God  upon  those  who  w^ould  not  acknowledge  Him  : 
''The  Lord  spake  also  unto  me  again,  saying.  Foras- 
much as  this  people  refuseth  the  waters  of  Shiloah  that 
go  softly,  and  rejoice  in  Rezin  and  Remaliah's  son  ; 
now  therefore  behold,  the  Lord  bringeth  up  upon 
them  the  waters  of  the  river,  strong  and  many,  even 
the  king  of  Assyria,  and   all  his  glory  :  and  he  shall 

'  Cotnp.  p.  268.  2  Qg,,   ^^,   ig  s  J  Kin:r3  iv.  21. 


ix.  13-21.]  THE  FIRST   SIX  TRUMPETS.  151 


come  up  over  all  his  channels,  and  go  over  all  his 
banks :  and  he  shall  pass  through  Judah ;  he  shall 
overflow  and  go  over,  he  shall  reach  even  to  the  neck  ; 
and  the  stretching  out  of  his  wings  shall  fill  the 
breadth  of  Thy  land,  O  Immanuel."^  When  accordingly 
the  Euphrates  is  here  spoken  of,  it  is  clear  that  with  the 
river  as  such  we  have  nothing  to  do.  It  is  simply  a 
symbol  of  judgment ;  and  the  four  angels  which  had  been 
bound  at  it,  but  were  now  loosed,  are  a  token — four  being 
the  number  of  the  world — that  the  judgment  referred 
to,  though  it  affects  but  a  third  part  of  men,  reaches 
men  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  globe.  When  the 
hour,  and  the  day,  and  the  month,  and  the  year — that  is, 
when  the  moment  fixed  in  the  counsels  of  the  Almighty 
— come,  the  chains  by  which  destruction  has  been  kept 
back  shall  be  broken,  and  the  world  shall  be  over- 
whelmed by  the  raging  stream. 

The  second  Old  Testament  thought  to  be  noted  in 
this  vision  is  that  of  horses.  To  the  Israelite  the 
horse  presented  an  object  of  terror  rather  than  admira- 
tion, and  an  army  of  horsemen  awakened  in  him  the 
deepest  feelings  of  alarm.  Thus  it  is  that  the  prophet 
Habakkuk,  describing  the  coming  judgments  of  God, 
is  commissioned  to  exclaim,  "  Behold  ye  among  the 
heathen,  and  regard,  and  wonder  marvellously:  for  I 
will  work  a  work  in  your  days,  which  ye  Vv^ill  not 
believe,  though  it  be  told  you.  For,  lo,  I  raise  up  the 
Chaldeans,  that  bitter  and  hasty  nation,  which  shall 
march  through  the  breadth  of  the  land,  to  possess  the 
dwelling-places  that  are  not  theirs.  They  are  terrible 
and  dreadful :  their  judgment  and  their  dignity  shall 
proceed  of  themselves.     Their  horses  also  are  swifter 


»    I:  a 


•  viii.  5- 


152  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

than  the  leopards,  and  are  more  fierce  than  the  evening 
wolves  :  and  their  horsemen  shall  spread  themselves, 
and  their  horsemen  shall  come  from  far ;  they  shall  fly- 
as  the  eagle  that  hasteth  to  eat.  They  shall  come  all 
for  violence  :  their  faces  shall  sup  up  as  the  east  wind, 
and  they  shall  gather  the  captivity  as  the  sand.  And 
they  shall  scoff  at  the  kings,  and  the  princes  shall  be 
a  scorn  unto  them  :  they  shall  deride  every  stronghold ; 
for  they  shall  heap  dust,  and  take  it."^  Like  the  locusts 
of  the  previous  vision,  the  "  horses  "  now  spoken  of 
are  indeed  clothed  with  preternatural  attributes ;  but 
the  explanation  is  the  same.  Ordinary  horses  could 
not  convey  images  of  sufficient  terror. 

The  last  two  verses  of  chap,  ix.,  which  follow  the 
sixth  Trumpet,  deserve  our  particular  attention.  They 
describe  the  effect  produced  upon  the  men  who  did  not 
perish  by  the  previous  plagues,  and  they  help  to  throw 
light  upon  a  question  most  intimately  connected  with 
a  just  interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  question 
is,  Does  the  Seer,  in  any  of  his  visions,  anticipate  the 
conversion  of  the  ungodly  ?  or  does  he  deal,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  his  descriptions,  with  righteous- 
ness and  sin  in  themselves  rather  than  with  righteous 
persons  who  may  decline  from  the  truth  or  sinful 
persons  who  may  own  and  welcome  it  ?  The  question 
will  meet  us  again  in  the  following  chapters  of  this 
book,  and  will  demand  a  fuller  discussion  than  it  can 
receive  at  present.  In  the  meantime  it  is  enough  to 
say  that,  in  the  two  verses  now  under  consideration, 
no  hint  as  to  the  conversion  of  any  ungodly  persons 
by  the  Trumpet  plagues  is  given.  On  the  contrary, 
the  "men" — that  is,  the  two-thirds  of  the  inhabitants 

'  Hab.  i.  5-10. 


ix.  13-21.]  THE  FIRST  SIX   TRUMPETS.  153 

of  the  earth  or  of  the  ungodly  world — who  were  not 
killed  by  these  plagues  repented  neither  of  their 
irreligious  principles  nor  of  their  immoral  lives.  They 
went  on  as  they  had  done  in  the  grossness  of  their 
idolatries  and  in  the  licentiousness  of  their  conduct. 
They  were  neither  awakened  nor  softened  by  the  fate 
of  others.  They  had  deliberately  chosen  their  own 
course ;  and,  although  they  knew  that  they  were  rush- 
ing against  the  thick  bosses  of  the  Almighty's  buckler, 
they  had  resolved  to  persevere  in  it  to  the  end. 

Two  brief  remarks  on  these  six  Trumpet  visions, 
looked  at  as  a  whole,  appear  still  to  be  required. 

I.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  interpret  either  the 
individual  objects  of  the  judgments  or  the  instruments 
by  which  judgment  is  inflicted.  To  the  one  class 
belong  the  "  earth,"  the  "  trees,"  the  "  green  grass,"  the 
''sea,"  the  ''ships,"  the  "rivers  and  fountains  of  the 
waters,"  the  "  sun,"  the  "  moon,"  and  the  "  stars ; "  to 
the  other  belong  the  details  given  in  the  description 
first  of  the  "locusts"  of  the  fifth  Trumpet  and  then 
of  the  "  horses  "  of  the  sixth.  Each  of  these  particulars 
may  have  a  definite  meaning,  and  interpreters  may  yet 
be  successful  in  discovering  it.  The  object  kept  in 
view  throughout  this  commentary  makes  any  effort  to 
ascertain  that  meaning,  Vhen  it  is  doubtful  if  it  even 
exists,  comparatively  unimportant.  We  are  endeavour- 
ing to  catch  the  broader  interpretation  and  spirit  of  the 
book;  and  it  may  be  a  question  whether  our  impres- 
sions would  in  that  respect  be  deepened  though  we 
saw  reason  to  believe  that  all  the  objects  above  men- 
tioned had  individual  force.  One  line  of  demarcation 
certainly  seems  to  exist,  traced  by  the  Seer  himself, 
between  the  first  four  and  the  two  following  judgments, 
the  former  referring  to  physical  disasters  flowing  from 


154  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

moral  evil,  the  latter  to  the  more  dreadful  intensifica- 
tion of  intellectual  darkness  and  moral  corruption  visited 
upon  men  when  they  deliberately  choose  evil  rather  than 
good.  Further  than  this  it  is  for  our  present  purpose 
unnecessary  to  go. 

2.  The  judgments  of  these  Trumpets  are  judgments 
on  the  zvorld  rather  than  the  Church.  Occasion  has 
been  already  taken  to  observe  that  the  structure  of  this 
part  of  the  Apocalypse  leads  to  the'  belief  that  both  the 
Trumpets  and  the  Bowls  are  developed  out  of  the  Seals. 
Yet  there  is  a  difference  between  the  two,  and  various 
indications  in  the  Trumpet  visions  appear  to  confine 
them  to  judgments  on  the  world. 

There  is  the  manner  in  which  they  are  introduced, 
as  an  answer  to  the  prayers  of  "all  the  saints."^  It  is 
true,  as  we  shall  yet  see,  that  the  degenerate  Church  is 
the  chief  persecutor  of  the  people  of  God.  But  against 
her  the  saints  cannot  pray.  To  them  she  is  still  the 
Church.  They  remember  the  principle  laid  down  by 
their  Lord  w^hen  He  spoke  of  His  kingdom  in  the 
parable  of  the  tares  :  '*  Let  both  grow  together  until  the 
harvest."  ^  God  alone  can  separate  the  false  from  the 
true  within  her  pale.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the 
Church  can  never  be  overthrown,  and  there  is  not  less 
a  sense  in  w^hich  the  world  shall  be  subdued.  Only  for 
the  subjugation  of  the  world,  therefore,  can  *'  all  the 
saints"  pray  ;  and  the  Trumpets  are  an  answer  to  their 
pra3^ers. 

Again,  the  three  Woe-Trumpets  are  directed  against 
^'  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth."  ^  But,  as  has  been 
already  said,  it  is  a  principle  of  interpretation  applicable 
to  all  the  three  series  of  the  Seals,  the  Trumpets,  and 

'  Chap.  viii.  3.  ^  Matt.  xiii.  30.  ^  Chap.  viii.  it,. 


ix.  13-21.]  THE  FIRST  SIX  TRUMPETS,  155 

the  Bowls,  that  traits  fiUing  up  the  picture  in  one 
member  belong  also  to  the  other  members  of  the  group, 
and  that  the  judgments,  while  under  one  aspect  seven, 
are  under  another  one.  The  three  Woes  therefore  fall 
upon  the  same  field  of  judgment  as  that  visited  by  the 
plagues  preceding  them.  In  other  words,  all  the  six 
plagues  of  this  series  of  visions  are  inflicted  upon  "them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  ; "  and  that  is  simply  another  form 
of  expression  for  the  ungodly  world. 

Again,  under  the  fifth  Trumpet  the  children  of  God 
are  separated  from  the  ungodly,  so  that  the  particulars 
of  that  judgment  do  not  touch  them.  The  locusts  are 
instructed  that  they  should  not  hurt  the  grass  of  the 
earthy  neither  any  green  things  neither  any  tree;  but  only 
such  men  as  have  not  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads} 

Again,  the  seventh  Trumpet,  in  which  the  series 
culminates,  and  which  embodies  its  character  as  a  whole, 
will  be  found  to  deal  with  judgment  on  the  world  alone  : 
*^The  nations  were  roused  to  wrath,  and  Thy  wrath 
came,  and  the  time  of  the  dead  to  be  judged,"  .  .  .  and 
"the  time  to  destroy  them  that  destroy  the  earth." ^ 

Finally,  the  description  given  at  the  end  of  the  sixth 
Trumpet  of  those  who  were  hardened  rather  than 
softened  by  the  preceding  judgments  leads  directly 
to  the  same  conclusion  :  And  the  7'est  of  mankind 
which  were  not  killed  by  these  plagues  repented  not  of  the 
works  of  their  hands,  that  they  should  not  worship  devils ^ 
and  the  idols  of  gold,  and  of  silver,  and  of  brass,  and  of 
stone,  and  of  wood? 

These  considerations  leave  no  doubt  that  the  judg- 
ments of  the  Trumpets  are  judgments  on  the  world.  The 
Church,  it  is  true,  may  also  suffer  from  them,  but  not 

*  Chap.  ix.  4.  2  Chap.  xi.  18.  ^  Chap.  ix.  20. 


156  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

in  judgment.  They  may  be  part  of  her  trial  as  she 
mixes  with  the  world  during  her  earthly  pilgrimage. 
Trial,  however,  is  not  judgment.  To  the  children  of  God 
it  is  the  discipline  of  a  Father's  hand.  In  the  midst  of 
it  the  Church  is  safe,  and  it  helps  to  ripen  her  for  the 
fulness  of  the  glory  of  her  heavenly  inheritance. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FIRST  CONSOLATORY  VISION'. 
Rev.  X. 

AT  the  point  now  reached  by  us  the  regular  pro- 
gress of  the  Trumpet  judgments  is  interrupted,  in 
precisely  the  same  manner  as  between  the  sixth  and 
seventh  Seals,  by  two  consolatory  visions.  The  first 
is  contained  in  chap,  x.,  the  second  in  chap.  xi.  1-13. 
At  chap.  xi.  14  the  series  of  the  Trumpets  is  resumed, 
reaching  from  that  point  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

And  I  saw  another  strong  angel  coming  down  out  of  heaven,  arra5'ed 
with  a  cloud :  and  the  rainbow  was  upon  his  head,  and  his  face  was 
as  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars  of  fire  :  and  he  had  in  his  hand 
a  little  book-roll  open  :  and  he  set  his  right  foot  upon  the  sea,  and 
his  left  upon  the  earth  :  and  he  cried  with  a  great  voice,  as  a  lion 
roareth  :  and  when  he  cried,  the  seven  thunders  uttered  their  voices. 
And  when  the  seven  thunders  uttered  their  voices,  I  was  about  to 
write :  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying.  Seal  up  the  things 
which  the  seven  thunders  uttered,  and  write  them  not.  And  the 
angel  which  I  saw  standing  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth  lifted 
up  his  right  hand  to  heaven,  and  sware  by  Him  that  liveth  for  ever 
and  ever,  who  created  the  heaven,  and  the  things  that  are  therein, 
and  the  earth,  and  the  things  that  are  therein,  and  the  sea,  and  the 
things  that  are  therein,  that  there  shall  be  time  no  longer :  but  in 
the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  when  he  is  about  to  sound, 
then  is  finished  the  mystery  of  God,  according  to  the  good  tidings 
which  He  declared  to  His  servants  the  prophets.  And  the  voice 
which  I  heard  from  heaven,  I  heard  it  again  speaking  with  me,  and 
saying,  Go,  take  the  book-roll  which  is  open  in  the  hand  of  the  angel 
that  btandeth  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  eaith.     And  I  went  unto  the 


IS8  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

angel,  saying  unto  him  that  he  should  give  me  the  little  book-roll. 
And  he  saith  unto  mc,  Take  it,  and  eat  it  up;  and  it  shall  make  thy 
belly  bitter,  but  in  thy  mouth  it  shall  be  sweet  as  honey.  And  I  took 
the  little  book-roll  out  of  the  angel's  hand,  and  ate  it  up ;  and  it  was 
in  my  mouth  sweet  as  honey :  and  when  I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly  was 
made  bitter.  And  they  say  unto  me,  Thou  must  prophesy  again  over 
manj'  peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues,  and  kings  (x.  I-Il). 

Many  questions  of  deep  interest,  and  upon  which 
the  most  divergent  opinions  have  been  entertained, 
meet  us  in  connexion  with  this  passage.  To  attempt 
to  discuss  these  various  opinions  would  only  confuse 
the  reader.  It  will  be  enough  to  allude  to  them  when 
it  seems  necessary  to  do  so.  In  the  meantime,  before 
endeavouring  to  discover  the  meaning  of  the  vision,  three 
observations  may  be  made ;  one  of  a  general  kind,  the 
other  two  bearing  upon  the  interpretation  of  particular 
clauses. 

1.  Like  almost  all  else  in  the  Revelation  of  St.  John, 
the  vision  is  founded  upon  a  passage  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. ^'  And  when  I  looked,"  says  the  prophet  Ezekiel, 
*' behold,  an  hand  was  sent  unto  me;  and,  lo,  a  roll  of 
a  book  was  therein.  .  .  .  Moreover  He  said  unto  mie, 
Son  of  man,  eat  what  thou  findest ;  eat  this  roll,  and 
go  speak  unto  the  house  of  Israel.  So  I  opened  my 
mouth,  and  He  caused  me  to  eat  that  roll.  And  He 
said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  cause  thy  belly  to  eat,  and 
fill  thy  bowels  with  this  roll  that  I  give  thee.  Then 
did  I  eat  it ;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth  as  honey  for 
sweetness.  And  He  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  go, 
get  thee  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  and  speak  with  My 
words  unto  them."  ^ 

2.  In  one  expression  of  ver.  6  it  is  doubtful  whether 
the  translation  of  the  Authorised  and  Revised  Versions, 

'  Ezek.  ii.  9;   iii.  4. 


X.  i-ii.]  THE  LITTLE  BOOK.  159 

or  the  marginal  translation  of  the  latter,  ought  to  be 
adopted,  whether  we  ought  to  read,  *'  There  shall  be 
time  "  or  "  There  shall  be  delay  "  no  longer.  But  the 
former  is  not  only  the  natural  meaning  of  the  original ; 
it  would  .almost  seem,  from  the  use  of  the  same  word 
in  other  passages  of  the  Apocalypse/  that  it  is  em- 
ployed by  St.  John  to  designate  the  whole  Christian 
age.  That  age  is  now  at  its  very  close.  The  last  hour 
is  about  to  strike.  The  drama  of  the  world's  history 
is  about  to  be  wound  up.  ''For  the  Lord  will  execute 
His  word  upon  the  earth,  finishing  it  and  cutting  it 
short."  2 

3.  The  last  verse  of  the  chapter  deserves  our  atten- 
tion for  a  moment :  And  they  say  unto  mCy  Thou  must 
prophesy  again  ovennany  peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues, 
and  kings.  Although  prophecy  itself  is  spoken  of  in 
several  passages  of  this  book,^  we  read  only  once  again 
of  prophesying :  when  it  is  said  in  chap.  xi.  3  of  the 
two  witnesses  that  they  shall  prophesy.  A  com- 
parison of  these  passages  will  show  that  both  words 
are  to  be  understood  in  the  sense  of  proclaiming  the 
righteous  acts  and  judgments  of  the  Almighty.  The 
prophet  of  the  Apocalypse  is  not  the  messenger  of 
mercy  only,  but  of  the  just  government  of  God. 

From  these  subordinate  points  we  hasten  to  questions 
more  immediately  concerning  us  in  our  effort  to  under- 
stand the  chapter.  Several  such  questions  have  to  be 
asked. 

I.  Who  is  the  angel  introduced  to  us  in  the  first 
verse  of  the  vision  ?  He  is  described  as  another  strong 
angel;  and,  as  the  epithet  ''strong"  has  been  so  used 

'  Comp.  chaps,  vi.  1 1 ;  xx.  3. 

2  Rom.  ix.  28. 

*  Comp.  chaps,  i.  3  ;  xxii.  7,  10,  18,  19. 


i6o  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

only  once  before — in  chap.  v.  2,  in  connexion  with  the 
opening  of  the  "book-roll  sealed  with  seven  seals — we 
are  entitled  to  conclude  that  this  angel  is  said  to  be 
"another"  in  comparison  with  the  angel  there  spoken 
of  rather  than  with  the  many  angels  that  surround  the 
throne  of  God.  But  the  "  strong  angel "  in  chap.  v.  is 
distinguished  both  from  God  Himself,  and  from  the 
Lamb.  In  some  sense,  therefore,  a  similar  distinction 
must  be  drawn  here.  On  the  other  hand,  the  particulars 
mentioned  of  this  angel  lead  directly  to  the  conclusion 
not  only  that  he  has  Divine  attributes,  but  that  he 
represents  no  other  than  that  Son  of  man  beheld  by 
St.  John  in  the  first  vision  of  his  book.  He  is  arrayed 
with  a  cloud;  and  in  every  passage  of  the  Apocalypse 
where  mention  is  made  of  such  investiture,  or  in  which 
a  cloud  or  clouds  are  associated  with  a  person,  it  is 
with  the  Saviour  of  the  world  as  He  comes  to  judg- 
ment.^ Similar  language  marks  also  the  other  books 
of  the  New  Testament.^  The  rainbow  was  upon  his 
head;  and  the  definite  article  employed  takes  us  back, 
not  to  the  rainbow  spoken  of  in  the  book  of  Genesis, 
or  to  the  rainbow  which  from  time  to  time  appears,  a 
well-known  object,  in  the  sky,  but  to  that  of  chap.  iv. 
3,  where  we  have  been  told,  in  the  description  of  the 
Divine  throne,  that  "  there  was  a  rainbow  round  about 
the  throne,  like  an  emerald  to  look  upon,"  The  words 
his  face  was  as  the  sun  do  not  of  themselves  prove  that 
the  reference  is  to  chap.  i.  i6,  where  it  is  said  of  the 
One  like  unto  a  son  of  man  that  "His  countenance 
was   as    the    sun    sliineth    in    his  strength;"    but    the 

'  Chaps.  ).  7;  xiv.  14-16.  In  chap.  xi.  12  "the  cloud"  is  the  well- 
known  cloud  in  which  Christ  ascended,  and  in  which  He  comes  to 
judgment. 

^   Matt.  xxlv.  30;  Mark  xiii.  26;  Luke  xxi.  27;   I  Thess.  iv.  17, 


X.  i-ii.]  THE  LITTLE  BOOK.  l6i 

propriety  of  this  reference  is  made  almost  indubitable 
by  the  mention  of  his  feet  as  pillars  of  fire,  for  this  last 
circumstance  can  only  be  an  allusion  to  the  trait  spoken 
of  in  chap.  i.  15,  ''  And  His  feet  hke  unto  fine  brass,  as 
if  it  had  been  refined  in  a  furnace."  The  combination 
of  these  particulars  shows  how  close  is  the  connexion 
between  the  *'  strong  angel "  of  this  vision  and  the 
Divine  Redeemer;  and  the  explanation  of  both  the 
difference  and  the  correspondence  between  the  two 
is  to  be  found  in  the  remark  previously  made  that  in 
the  Apocalypse  the  "angel"  of  any  person  or  thing 
expresses  that  person  or  thing  in  action.^  Here, 
therefore,  we  have  the  action  of  Him  who  is  the  Head, 
and  King,  and  Lord  of  His  Church. 

2.  In  what  character  does  the  Lord  appear  ?  As  to 
the  answer  to  this  question  there  can  be  no  dubiety. 
He  appears  in  judgment.  The  rainbow  upon  His 
head  is  indeed  the  symbol  of  mercy,  but  it  is  sufficiently 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  He  is  Saviour  as 
well  as  Judge.  So  far  is  the  Apocalypse  from  repre- 
senting the  ideas  of  judgment  and  mercy  as  incom- 
patible with  each  other  that  throughout  the  whole 
book  the  most  terrible  characteristic  of  the  former  is 
its  proceeding  from  One  distinguished  by  the  latter. 
If  even  in  itself  the  Divine  wrath  is  to  be  dreaded  by 
the  sinner,  the  dread  which  it  ought  to  inspire  reaches 
its  highest  point  when  we  think  of  it  as  ''the  wrath  of 
the  Lamb."  The  other  features  of  the  description 
speak  directly  of  judgment :  the  ''cloud,"  the  "sun," 
the  "  pillars  of  fire." 

3.  What  notion  are  we  to  form  of  the  contents  of 
the  little  bcok-roll?  They  are  certainly  not  the  same 
as  those  of  the  bock-roll  of  chap,  v.,  although  the  word 

*  Comp.  p.  25. 

II 


i62  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

here  used  for  the  roll,  a  diminutive  from  the  other,  may 
suggest  the  idea  that  there  is  an  intimate  connexion 
between  the  two  books,  and  that  the  second,  like  the 
first,  is  full  of  judgment.  Other  circumstances  men- 
tioned lead  to  the  same  conclusion.  Thus  the  great 
voice^  as  a  lion  roareth,  cannot  fail  to  remind  us  of  the 
voice  of  ''the  Lion  that  is  of  the  tribe  of  Judah"  in 
chap.  V.  The  thought  oi  the  seven  thunders  which  uttered 
their  voices  deepens  the  impression,  for  in  that  number 
we  have  the  general  conception  of  thunder  in  all  the 
varied  terrors  that  belong  to  it;  and,  whatever  the 
particulars  uttered  by  the  thunders  were — a  point  into 
which  it  is  vain  to  inquire,  as  the  writing  of  them  was 
forbidden — their  general  tone  must  have  been  that  of 
judgment.  But  these  thunders  are  a  response  to  the 
strong  angel  as  he  was  about  to  take  action  with  the 
little  book, — ^^  when  he  cried,  the  seven  thunders  uttered 
their  voices," — and  the  response  must  have  been 
related  to  the  action.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the 
contents  of  the  little  book  cannot  have  been  tidings  of 
mercy  to  a  sinful  world;  and  that  that  book  cannot 
have  been  intended  to  tell  the  Seer  that,  notwithstanding 
the  opposition  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  the  Church 
of  Christ  was  to  make  her  way  among  the  nations, 
growing  up  from  the  small  seed  into  the  stately  tree, 
and  at  last  covering  the  earth  with  the  shadow  of  her 
branches.  Even  on  the  supposition  that  a  conception 
of  this  kind  could  be  traced  in  other  parts  of  the 
Apocalypse,  it  would  be  out  of  keeping  with  the  par- 
ticulars accompanying  it  here.  We  may  without 
hesitation  conclude  that  the  little  book-roll  has  thus 
the  general  character  of  judgment,  although,  like  the 
larger  roll  of  chap,  v.,  it  may  also  include  in  it  the 
preservation  of  the  saints. 


X.  i-ii.]  THE  LITTLE  BOOK.  163 


We  are  thus  in  a  position  to  inquire  what  the  special 
contents  of  the  little  book-roll  were.  Before  doing  so 
one  consideration  may  be  kept  in  view. 

Calling  to  mind  the  symmetrical  structure  of  the 
Apocalypse,  it  seems  natural  to  expect  that  the  relation 
to  one  another  of  the  two  consolatory  visions  falling 
between  the  Trumpets  and  the  Bowls  will  correspond 
to  that  of  the  two  between  the  Seals  and  the  Trumpets. 
The  two  companies,  however,  spoken  of  in  these  two 
latter  visions,  are  the  same,  the  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  thousand  '^  out  of  every  tribe  of  the  children  of 
Israel "  being  identical  with  the  great  multitude  ''  out  of 
every  nation  ; "  while  the  contents  of  the  second  vision 
are  substantially  the  same  as  those  of  the  first,  though 
repeated  on  a  fuller  and  more  perfect  scale.  Now  we 
shall  shortly  see  that  the  second  of  our  present  con- 
solatory visions — that  in  chap.  xi. — brings  out  the  victory 
and  triumph  of  a  faithful  remnant  of  believers  within 
a  degenerate,  though  professing.  Church.  How  pro- 
bable does  it  become  that  the  first  consolatory  vision — 
that  in  chap.  x. — will  relate  to  the  same  remnant,  though 
on  a  lower  plane  alike  of  battle  and  of  conquest ! 

Thus  looked  at,  we  have  good  ground  for  the  sup- 
position that  the  httle  book-roll  contained  indications 
of  judgment  about  to  descend  on  a  Church  which  had 
fallen  from  her  high  position  and  practically  disowned 
her  Divine  Master ;  while  at  the  same  time  it  assured 
the  faithful  remnant  within  her  that  they  would  be 
preserved,  and  in  due  season  glorified.  The  little  book 
thus  spoke  of  the  hardest  of  all  the  struggles  through 
which  believers  have  to  pass :  that  with  foes  of  their 
own  household  ;  but,  so  speaking,  it  told  also  of  judg- 
ment upon  these  foes,  and  of  a  glorious  issue  for  the 
true  members  of  Christ's  Body  out  of  toil  and  suffering. 


i64  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

With  this  view  of  the  contents  of  the  Httle  book-roll 
everything  that  is  said  of  it  appears  to  be  in  harmony. 

1.  We  thus  at  once  understand  why  it  is  named  by 
a  diminutive  form  of  the  word  used  for  the  book-roll 
in  chap.  v.  The  latter  contained  the  whole  counsel  of 
God  for  the  execution  of  His  plans  both  in  the  world 
and  in  the  Church.  The  former  has  reference  to  the 
Church  alone.  A  smaller  roll  therefore  would  naturally 
be  sufficient  for  its  tidings. 

2.  The  action  which  the  Seer  is  commanded  to  take 
with  the  roll  receives  adequate  explanation.  He  was 
to  take  it  out  of  the  hand  of  the  strong  angel  and  to 
eat  it  lip.  The  meaning  is  obvious,  and  is  admitted  by 
all  interpreters.  The  Seer  is  in  his  own  actual  expe- 
rience to  assimilate  the  contents  of  the  roll  in  order 
that  he  may  know  their  value.  The  injunction  is  in 
beautiful  accord  with  what  we  otherwise  know  of  the 
character  and  feelings  of  St.  John.  The  power  of 
Christian  experience  to  throw  light  upon  Christian 
truth  and  upon  the  fortunes  of  Christ's  people  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  the  fourth 
Gospel.  It  penetrates  and  pervades  the  whole.  We 
listen  to  the  expression  of  the  Evangelist's  own  feelings 
as  he  is  about  to  present  to  the  world  the  image  of  his 
beloved  Master,  and  he  cries,  "  We  beheld  His  glory, 
glory  as  of  the  only-begotten  from  the  Father ; "  *'  Of 
His  fulness  we  all  received,  and  grace  for  grace."  ^  We 
notice  his  comment  upon  words  of  Jesus  dark  to  his 
fellow-Apostles  and  himself  at  the  time  when  they  were  . 
spoken,  and  he  says,  "  When  therefore  He  was  raised 
from  the  dead,  His  disciples  remembered  that  He  spake 
this  ;  and  they  believed  the  word  which  Jesus  had  said."^ 

*  John  i.  14,  16.  -  Jol.n  ii.  22. 


X.  i-ii.]  THE  LITTLE  BOOK.  165 

Finally,  we  hear  him  as  he  remembers  the  promise  of 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  who  was  to  instruct  the  disciples, 
not  by  new  revelations  of  the  Divine  will,  but  by 
unfolding  more  largely  the  fulness  that  was  to  be 
found  in  Christ:  '' Howbeit  when  He,  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  is  come.  He  shall  guide  you  into  all  the  truth : 
for  He  shall  not  speak  from  Himself;  but  what  things 
soever  He  shall  hear,  these  shall  He  speak  :  and  He 
shall  declare  unto  you  the  things  that  are  to  come. 
He  shall  glorify  Me :  for  He  shall  take  of  Mine,  and 
shall  declare  it  unto  you."^  Everywhere  and  always 
Christian  experience  is  the  key  that  unlocks  what 
would  otherwise  be  closed,  and  sheds  light  upon  what 
would  otherwise  be  dark.  To  such  experience,  accord- 
ingly, the  contents  of  the  little  roll,  if  they  were  such 
as  we  have  understood  them  to  be,  must  have  appealed 
with  pecuhar  power.  In  beholding  judgment  executed 
on  the  world,  the  believer  might  need  only  to  stand 
by  and  wonder,  as  Moses  and  Israel  stood  upon  the 
shore  of  the  Red  Sea  when  the  sea,  returning  to  its 
bed,  overwhelmed  their  enemies.  They  were  safe. 
They  had  neither  part  nor  lot  with  those  who  were 
sinking  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters.  It  would  be 
otherwise  when  judgment  came  upon  the  Church.  Of 
that  Church  believers  were  a  part.  How  could  they 
explain  the  change  that  had  come  over  her,  the  purifi- 
cation that  she  needed,  the  separation  that  must  take 
place  within  what  had  hitherto  been  to  all  appearance 
the  one  Zion  which  God  loved?  In  the  former  case 
all  was  outward  ;  in  the  latter  all  is  inward,  personal, 
experimental,  leading  to  inquiry  and  earnest  searchings 
of  heart  and  prayer.     A  book  containing  these  things 


»  John  xvi.  13,  14, 


i66  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

was    thus    an    appeal    to    Christian    experience,    and 
St.  John  might  well  be  told  to  "  eat  it  up." 

3.  The  effect  produced  upon  the  Seer  by  eating  the 
little  roll  is  also  in  accord  with  what  has  been  said. 
It  shall  make  thy  belly  bitter^  it  was  said  to  him,  but  in 
thy  mouth  it  shall  be  sweet  as  honey;  and  the  effect 
followed.  //  was  in  my  mouth,  h6  says,  sweet  as  honey : 
and  when  I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly  was  made  bitter.  Such 
an  effect  could  hardly  follow  the  mere  proclamation  of 
judgment  on  the  world.  When  we  look  at  that  judgment 
in  the  light  in  which  it  ought  to  be  regarded,  and  in 
which  we  have  hitherto  regarded  it — as  the  vindication 
of  righteousness  and  of  a  Divine  and  righteous  order — 
the  thought  of  it  can  impart  nothing  but  joy.  But  to 
think  that  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  the  bride  of 
Christ,  shall  be  visited  with  judgment,  and  to  be  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  that  the  judgment  is  deserved ; 
to  think  that  those  to  whom  so  much  has  been  given 
should  have  given  so  little  in  return  ;  to  think  of  the 
selfishness  which  has  prevailed  where  love  ought  to 
have  reigned,  of  worldliness  where  there  ought  to  have 
been  heavenliness  of  mind,  and  of  discord  where  there 
ought  to  have  been  unity — these  are  the  things  that 
make  the  Christian's  reflections  "  bitter ; "  they,  and  they 
most  of  all,  are  his  perplexity,  his  burden,  his  sorrow, 
and  his  cross.  The  world  may  disappoint  him,  but 
from  it  he  expected  little.  When  the  Church  disap- 
points him,  the  "  foundations  are  overturned,"  and  the 
honey  of  life  is  changed  into  gall  and  wormwood. 

Combining  the  particulars  which  have  now  been 
noticed,  we  seem  entitled  to  conclude  that  the  little 
book-roll  of  this  chapter  is  a  roll  of  judgment,  but  of 
judgment  relating  less  to  the  world  than  to  the  Church. 
It  tells  us  that  that  sad  experience  of  hers  which  is  to 


X.  i-ii.]  THE  LITTLE  BOOK.  167 

meet  us  in  the  following  chapters  ought  neither  to  per- 
plex nor  overwhelm  us.  The  experience  may  be  strange, 
very  different  from  what  we  might  have  expected  and 
hoped  for;  but  the  thread  by  which  the  Church  is 
guided  has  not  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  Him  who 
leads  His  people  by  ways  that  they  know  not  into  the 
hands  of  an  unsympathizing  and  hostile  power.  As 
His  counsels  in  reference  to  the  world,  and  to  the 
Church  in  her  general  relation  to  it,  contained  in  the 
great  book-roll  of  chap,  v.,  shall  stand,  so  the  internal 
relations  of  the  two  parts  of  His  Church  to  each  other, 
together  with  the  issues  depending  upon  them,  are 
equally  under  His  control.  If  judgment  falls  upon  the 
Church,  it  is  not  because  God  has  forgotten  to  be 
gracious,  or  has  in  anger  shut  up  His  tender  mercies, 
but  because  the  Church  has  sinned,  because  she  is  in 
need  of  chastisement,  and  because  she  must  be  taught 
that  only  in  direct  dependence  upon  the  voice  of  the 
Good  Shepherd,  and  not  in  the  closest  '^  fold  "  that  can 
be  built  for  her,  is  she  safe.  Let  her  '^  know "  Him, 
and  she  shall  be  known  of  Him  even  as  He  is  known 
of  the  Father.^ 

*  Comp.  John  x.  I -1 5. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SECOND  CONSOLATORY  VISION  AND   THE  SEVENTH 
TRUMPET. 

Rev.  xi, 

FROM  the  first  consolatory  vision  we  proceed  to 
the  second : — 

And  there  was  given  unto  me  a  reed  like  unto  a  rod  :  and  one  said, 
Rise,  and  measure  the  temple  of  God,  and  the  altar,  and  them  that 
worship  therein.  And  the  court  which  is  without  the  temple  cast 
without,  and  measure  it  not ;  for  it  hath  been  given  unto  the  nations : 
and  the  holy  city  shall  they  tread  under  foot  forty  and  two  months 
(y\.  I,  2). 

Various  points  connected  with  these  verses  demand 
examination  before  any  attempt  can  be  made  to  gather 
the  meaning  of  the  vision  as  a  whole. 

I.  What  is  meant  by  the  measuring  of  the  Temple? 
As  in  so  many  other  instances,  the  figure  is  taken  from 
the  Old  Testament.  In  the  prophet  Zechariah  we 
read,  '*  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes  again,  and  looked,  and 
behold  a  man  with  a  measuring  line  in  his  hand.  Then 
said  I,  Whither  goest  thou  ?  And  he  said  unto  me, 
To  measure  Jerusalem,  to  see  what  is  the  breadth 
thereof,  and  what  is  the  length  thereof"^  To  the  same 
effect,  but  still  more  particularly,  the  prophet  Ezekiel 
speaks :  *'  In  the  visions  of  God  brought  He  me  into 

'  Zech.  ii.  I.  2, 


xi.  1, 2.]  MEASURING   OF  THE   TEMPLE.  169 

the  land  of  Israel,  and  set  me  upon  a  very  high  moun- 
tain, by  which  was  as  the  frame  of  a  city  on  the  south. 
And  He  brought  me  thither,  and,  behold,  there  was  a 
.  man,   whose  appearance  was    like   the  appearance   of 
brass,  with  a  line  of  flax  in  his  hand,  and  a  measuring 
reed ;   and  he  stood  in  the  gate.  .  .  .  And   behold   a 
wall  on  the  outside  of  the  house  round  about,  and  in 
the  man's  hand  a   measuring  reed  of  six  cubits  long 
by  the  cubit  and  an  handbreadth,   so  he  measured,"^ 
whereupon  follows  a  minute  and  lengthened  description 
of  the  measuring  of  all  the  parts  of  that  Temple  which 
was  to  be  the  glory  of  God's  people  in  the  latter  days. 
From  these  passages  we  not   only  learn  whence   the 
idea    of  the    ''measuring"    was   taken,   but    what    the 
meaning  of  it  was.     The    account    given    by    Ezekiel 
distinctly  shows    that  thus  to  measure  expresses  the 
thought  of  preservation,  not  of  destruction.     That  the 
same   thought  is  intended  by  Zechariah  is  clear  from 
the  words  immediately  following  the  instruction  given 
him  to  measure  :  "  For  I,  saith  the  Lord,  will  be  unto 
her  a  wall  of  fire  round  about,  and  will  be  the  glory  in 
the  midst  of  her ; "  ^  while,  if  further  proof  upon  this 
point   were   needed,   it  is    found  in  the  fact  that  the 
measuring  of  this  passage  does  not  stand  alone  in  the 
Apocalypse.     The   new   Jerusalem  is  also   measured : 
"And    he   that   spake  with  me  had  for  a  measure  a 
golden  reed  to  measure  the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof, 
and    the   wall    thereof.     And    he    measured    the    wall 
thereof,  an  hundred  and  forty  and  four  cubits,  according 
to  the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  an  angel. "^     When 
God  therefore  measures.  He  measures,  not  in  indigna- 
tion, but  that  the  object  measured  may  be  in  a  deeper 
than  ordinary  sense  the  habitation  of  His  glory. 

*  Ezek.  xI.  2-5.  2  2ech.  ii.  5.  ^  Chap.  xxi.  15,  17. 


170  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

2.  What  is  meant  by  the  temple,  the  altar,  and  the 
casting  without  of  the  court  which  is  without  the  temple  ? 
In  other  words,  are  we  to  interpret  these  objects  and 
the  action  taken  with  the  latter  Hterally  or  figuratively  ? 
Are  we  to  think  of  the  things  themselves,  or  of  certain 
spiritual  ideas  which  they  are  used  to  represent  ? 
The  first  view  is  not  only  that  of  many  eminent  com- 
mentators ;  it  even  forms  one  of  the  chief  grounds 
upon  which  they  urge  that  the  Herodian  temple  upon 
Mount  Moriah  was  still  in  existence  when  the  Apora- 
lyptist  wrote.  He  could  not,  it  is  alleged,  have  been 
instructed  to  "  measure  "  the  Temple  if  that  building 
had  been  already  thrown  down,  and  not  one  stone  left 
upon  another.  Yet,  when  we  attend  to  the  words,  it 
would  seem  as  if  this  view  must  be  set  aside  in  favour 
of  a  figurative  interpretation.     For — 

(i)  The  word  *' temple"  misleads.  The  term  em- 
ployed in  the  original  does  not  mean  the  Temple- 
buildings  as  a  whole,  but  only  their  innermost  shrine 
or  sanctuary,  that  part  known  as  the  **  Holy  of  holies," 
which  was  separated  from  every  other  part  of  the  sacred 
structure  by  the  second  veil.  No  doubt,  so  far  as  the 
simple  act  of  measuring  was  concerned,  a  part  might 
have  been  as  easily  measured  as  the  whole.  But 
closer  attention  to  what  w^as  in  the  Seer's  mind  will 
show  that  when  he  thus  speaks  of  the  riaos  or  shrine 
he  is  not  thinking  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  at  all, 
but  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the  wilderness  upon  which  the 
Temple  was  moulded.  The  nineteenth  verse  of  the 
chapter  makes  this  clear.  In  that  verse  we  find  him  say- 
ing, "And  there  was  opened  the  temple"  (the  naos)  "of 
God  that  is  in  heaven,  and  there  was  seen  in  His  temple  '-^ 
(His  naos)  "the  ark  of  His  covenant."  We  know, 
however,  that  the  ark  of  the  covenant  ncv^  had  a  place 


xi.  1, 2.]  MEASURING   OF  THE   TEMPLE.  171 

in  the  Temple  which  existed  in  the  days  of  Christ.  It 
had  disappeared  at  the  destruction  of  the  first  Temple, 
long  before  that  date.  The  Temple  spoken  of  in  the 
nineteenth  verse  is  indeed  said  to  be  *'  in  heaven  ;"  and 
it  may  be  thought  that  the  ark,  though  not  on  earth, 
might  have  been  seen  there.  But  no  reader  of  the 
Revelation  of  St.  John  can  doubt  that  to  him  the 
sanctuary  of  God  on  earth  was  an  exact  representation 
of  the  heavenly  sanctuary,  that  what  God  had  given  in 
material  form  to  men  was  a  faithful  copy  of  the  ideas 
of  His  spiritual  and  eternal  kingdom.  He  could  not 
therefore  have  placed  in  the  original  what,  if  he  had 
before  his  mind  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  he  knew 
had  no  existence  within  its  precincts;  and  the  con- 
clusion is  irresistible  that  when  he  speaks  of  a  naos 
that  was  to  be  measured  he  had  turned  his  thoughts, 
not  to  the  stone  building  upon  Mount  Moriah,  but  to 
its  ancient  prototype.  On  this  ground  alone  then, 
even  could  no  other  be  adduced,  we  seem  entitled  to 
maintain  that  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  word 
"temple"  is  here  impossible. 

(2)  Even  should  it  be  allowed  that  the  sanctuary  and 
the  altar  might  be  measured,  the  injunction  is  altogether 
inapplicable  to  the  next  following  clause :  them  that 
worship  iheiein.  And  it  is  peculiarly  so  if  we  adopt 
the  natural  construction,  by  which  the  word  "  therein  " 
is  connected  with  the  word  "altar."  We  cannot 
literally  speak  of  persons  worshipping  "in"  an  altar. 
Nay,  even  though  we  connect  **  therein  "  with  "  the 
temple,"  the  idea  of  measuring  persons  with  a  rod  is 
at  variance  with  the  realities  of  life  and  the  ordinary 
use  of  human  language.  A  figurative  element  is  thus 
introduced  into  the  veiy  heart  of  the  clause  the  mean- 
ing of  which  is  in  dispute. 


172  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

(3)  A  similar  observation  may  be  made  with  regard 
to  the  words  cast  ivitJwiit  in  ver.  2.  The  injunction  has 
reference  to  the  outer  court  of  the  Temple,  and  the 
thought  of  '^casting  out"  such  an  extensive  space  is 
clearly  inadmissible.  So  much  have  translators  felt 
this  that  both  in  the  Authorised  and  Revised  Versions 
they  have  replaced  the  words  "  cast  without "  by  the 
words  "  leave  without."  The  outer  court  of  the  Temple 
could  not  be  ^'cast  out;"  therefore  it  must  be  ''left 
out."  The  interpretation  thus  given,  however,  fails  to 
do  justice  to  the  original,  for,  though  the  word  em- 
ployed does  not  always  include  actual  violence,  it 
certainly  implies  action  of  a  more  positive  kind  than 
mere  letting  alone  or  passing  by.  More  than  this. 
We  are  under  a  special  obligation  in  the  present 
instance  not  to  strip  the  word  used  by  the  Apostle  of 
its  proper  force,  for  we  shall  immediately  see  that, 
rightly  interpreted,  it  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
expressions  of  his  book,  and  of  the  greatest  value  in 
helping  us  to  determine  the  precise  nature  of  his 
thought.  In  the  meanwhile  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
the  employment  of  the  term  in  the  connexion  in 
which  it  here  occurs  is  at  variance  with  a  simply 
literal  interpretation. 

(4)  It  cannot  be  denied  that  almost  every  other 
expression  in  the  subsequent  verses  of  the  vision  is 
figurative  or  metaphorical.  If  we  are  to  interpret  this 
part  literally,  it  will  be  impossible  to  apply  the  same 
rule  to  other  parts ;  and  we  shall  have  such  a  mixture 
of  the  literal  and  metaphorical  as  will  completely  baffle 
our  efforts  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  Seer. 

(5)  We  have  the  statement  from  the  writer's  own  lips 
that,  at  least  in  speaking  of  Jerusalem,  he  is  not  to  be 
literally  understood.     In  ver.  8  he  refers  to  "  the  great 


[,  2.]  MEASURING   OF  THE   TEMPLE. 


m 


city,  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt." 
The  hint  thus  given  as  to  one  point  of  his  description 
may  be  accepted  as  applicable  to  it  all. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  ''measuring,"  the 
"temple"  or  naos,  the   "altar,"  the  "court  which    is 
without,"  and  the  "  casting  without "  of  the  latter  are 
^  to  be  regarded  as  figurative. 

3.  Our  third  point  of  inquiry  is,  What  is  the  meaning 
of  the  figure  ?  There  need  be  no  hesitation  as  to  the 
things  first  spoken  of:  "the  temple,  the  altar,  and 
them  that  worship  therein."  These,  the  most  sacred 
parts  of  the  Temple-buildings,  can  only  denote  the  most 
sacred  portion  of  the  true  Israel  of  God.  They  are 
those  disciples  of  Christ  who  constitute  His  shrine. 
His  golden  altar  of  incense  whence  their  prayers  rise 
up  continually  before  Him,  His  worshippers  in  spirit 
and  in  truth.  These,  as  we  have  already  often  had 
occasion  to  see,  shall  be  preserved  safe  amidst  the 
troubles  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world.  In  one 
passage  we  have  been  told  that  they  are  numbered  ^  ; 
now  we  are  further  informed  that  they  are  measured. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  explain  who  are  meant  by  "  the 
court  which  is  without  the  temple."  But  three  things 
are  clear.  First,  they  are  a  part  of  the  Temple-buildings, 
although  not  of  its  inner  shrine.  Secondly,  they  belong 
to  Jerusalem;  and  Jerusalem,  notwithstanding  its  de- 
generate condition,  was  still  the  city  of  God,  standing 
to  Him  in  a  relation  different  from  that  of  the."  nations," 
even  when  it  had  sunk  beneath  them  and  had  done  more 
to  merit  His  displeasure.  Thirdly,  they  cannot  be  the 
Gentiles,  for  from  them  they  are  manifestly  distinguished 
when  it  is  said  that  the  outer  court  "  hath  been  given 


^  John  vii.  4. 


174  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

unto  the  nations:  and  the  holy  city  shall  they  tread 
under  foot  forty  and  two  months."^  One  conclusion 
alone  remains.  The  "court  that  is  without"  must 
symbolize  the  faithless  portion  of  the  Christian  Church, 
such  as  tread  the  courts  of  the  house  of  God,  but  to 
whom  He  speaks  as  He  spoke  to  Jerusalem  of  old  : 
*'  Bring  no  more  vain  oblations  ;  incense  is  an  abomina- 
tion unto  Me ;  the  new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  calling 
of  assemblies,  I  cannot  away  with ;  it  is  iniquity,  even 
the  solemn  meeting.  Your  new  moons  and  your 
appointed  feasts  My  soul  hateth :  they  are  a  trouble 
unto  Me;  I  am  weary  to  bear  them."  2 

The  correctness  of  the  sense  thus  assigned  to  this 
part  of  the  vision  is  powerfully  confirmed  by  what 
appears  to  be  the  true  foundation  of  the  singular  ex- 
pression already  so  far  spoken  of,  "  cast  without." 
Something  must  lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  figure ;  and 
nothing  seems  so  probable  as  this  :  that  it  is  the  "  cast- 
ing out "  which  took  place  in  the  case  of  the  man  blind 
from  his  birth,  and  the  opening  of  whose  eyes  by 
Jesus  is  related  in  the  fourth  Gospel.  Of  that  man  we 
are  told  that  when  the  Jews  could  no  longer  answer 
him  "they  cast  him  out."  ^  The  word  is  the  same 
as  that  now  employed,  and  the  thought  is  most  probably 
the  same  also.  Excommunication  from  the  synagogue 
is  in  the  Seer's  mind,  not  a  temporal  punishment,  not 
a  mere  worldly  doom,  but  a  spiritual  sentence  depriving 
of  spiritual  privileges  misunderstood  and  abused.  Such 
a  casting  out,  however,  can  apply  only  to  those  who 
had  been  once  within  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house 
or  to  the  faithless  members  of  the  Christian  Church. 
They,    like   the   Jews    of  old,  would   "  cast    out "  the 

^  Ver.  2.  '  Isa.  i.  13,  14.  '  Jchn  ix.  34. 


XI.  1,2.]  MEASURING  OF  THE   TEMPLE.  175 

humble  disciples  whom  Jesus  ^'  found  " ;  ^  and  He  cast 
them  out. 

If  the  explanation  now  given  of  the  opening  verses 
of  this  chapter  be  correct,-  we  have  reached  a  very 
remarkable  stage  in  these  apocalyptic  visions.  For 
the  first  time,  except  in  the  letters  to  the  churches,^ 
we  have  a  clear  line  of  distinction  drawn  between 
the  professing  and  the  true  portions  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  or,  as  it  may  be  otherwise  expressed,  between 
the  ^'called"  and  the  ''chosen."^  How  far  the  same 
distinction  will  meet  us  in  later  visions  of  this  book 
we  have  yet  to  see.  For  the  present  it  may  be  enough 
to  say  that  the  drawing  of  such  a  distinction  corre- 
sponds exactly  with  what  we  might  have  been  prepared 
to  expect.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that  in 
the  things  actually  around  him  St.  John  beheld  the 
mould  and  type  of  the  things  that  were  to  come.  Now 
Jerusalem,  the  Church  of  God  in  Israel,  contained  two 
classes  within  its  walls :  those  who  were  accomplishing 
their  high  destiny  and  those  by  whom  that  destiny 
was  misunderstood,  despised,  and  cast  away.  Has  it 
not  always  been  the  same  in  the  Christian  Church  ? 
If  the  world  entered  into  the  one,  has  it  not  entered 
as  disastrously  into  the  other  ?  That  field  which 
is  ^'  the  kingdom  of  heaven "  upon  earth  has  never 
wanted  tares  as  well  as  wheat.  They  grow  together, 
and  no  man  may -separate  them.  When  the  appro- 
priate moment  comes,  God  Himself  will  give  the 
word ;  angels  will  carry  off  the  tares,  and  the  great 
Husbandman  will  gather  the  wheat  into  His  garner. 

4.  One  question  still  remains:  What  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  forty  and  two  months  during  which  the  holy 


John  ix.  35.     -  Chaps,  ii.  24;  iii.  I,  4.     '  Comp.  Matt.  xxii.  14. 


176  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

city  is  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  the  nations  ?  The 
same  expression  meets  us  in  chap.  xiii.  5,  where  it  is 
said  that  "  there  was  given  to  the  beast  authority  to 
continue  forty  and  tw^o  months."  But  forty  and  two 
months  is  also  three  and  a  half  years,  the  Jewish  year 
having  consisted  of  twelve  months,  except  when  an 
intercalary  month  was  inserted  among  the  twelve  in 
order  to  preserve  harmony  between  the  seasons  and 
the  rotation  of  time.  The  same  period  is  therefore 
again  alluded  to  in  chap.  xii.  14,  when  it  is  said  of 
the  woman  who  fled  into  the  wilderness  that  she  is 
there  nourished  for  "  a  time,  and  times,  and  half  a 
time."  Once  more,  we  read  in  chap.  xi.  3  and  in  chap, 
xii.  6  of  a  period  denoted  by  ''  a  thousand  two  hundred 
and  threescore  days  ; "  and  a  comparison  of  this  last 
passage  with  ver.  14  of  the  same  chapter  distinctly 
shows  that  it  is  equivalent  to  the  three  and  a  half 
times  or  years.  Three  and  a  half  multiplied  by  three 
hundred  and  sixty,  the  number  of  days  in  the  Jewish 
year,  gives  us  exactly  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
days.  These  three  periods,  therefore,  are  the  same. 
Why  the  different  designations  should  be  adopted 
is  another  question,  to  which,  so  far  as  we  are  aware, 
no  satisfactory  reply  has  yet  been  given,  although  it 
may  be  that,  for  some  occult  reason,  the  Seer  beholds 
in  "  months "  a  suitable  expression  for  the  dominion 
of  evil,  in  "  days  "  one  appropriate  to  the  sufferings 
of  the  good. 

The  ground  of  this  method  of  looking  at  the  Church's 
histcry  is  found  in  the  book  of  Daniel,  where  we  read 
of  the  fourth  beast,  or  the  fourth  kingdom,  ''And  he 
shall  speak  great  words  against  the  Most  High,  and 
shall  wear'out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think 
to  change  times  and  laws  :  and  they   shall  be   given 


xi.3-i3]  THE   TWO    WITNESSES.  177 

into  his  hand  until  a  time  and  times  and  the  dividing 
of  time."  ^  The  same  book  helps  us  also  to  answer 
the  question  as  to  the  particular  period  of  the  Church's 
history  denoted  by  the  days,  or  months,  or  years  referred 
to,  for  in  another  passage  the  prophet  says,  "  And 
He  shall  confirm  the  covenant  with  many  for  one  week  : 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  week  He  shall  cause  the  sacri- 
fice and  the  oblation  to  cease."  ^  The  three  and  a  half 
years  therefore,  or  the  half  of  seven  years,  denote 
the  whole  period  extending  from  the  cessation  of  the 
sacrifice  and  oblation.  In  other  words,  they  denote 
the  Christian  era  from  its  beginning  to  its  close,  and 
that  more  especially  on  the  side  of  its  disturbed  and 
broken  character,  of  the  power  exercised  in  it  by 
what  is  evil,  of  the  troubles  and  sufferings  of  the  good. 
During  it  the  disciples  of  the  Saviour  do  not  reach 
the  completeness  of  their  rest ;  their  victory  is  not 
won.  Ideally  it  is  so  ;  it  always  has  been  so  since 
Jesus  overcame  :  but  it  is  not  yet  won  in  the  actual 
realities  of  the  case;  and,  though  in  one  sense  every 
heavenly  privilege  is  theirs,  their  difficulties  are  so 
great,  and  their  opponents  so  numerous  and  powerful, 
that  the  true  expression  for  their  state  is  a  broken 
seven  years,  or  three  years  and  a  half.  During  this 
time,  accordingly,  the  holy  city  is  represented  as  trodden 
under  foot  by  the  nations.  They  who  are  at  ease  in 
Zion  may  not  feel  it ;  but  to  the  true  disciples  of  Jesus 
their  Master's  prophecy  is  fulfilled,  "In  the  world  ye 
shall  have  tribulation."  ^ 

The  vision  now  proceeds  :— 

And  I  will  give  power  unto  My  two  witnesses,  and  they  shall  prophesy 
a  thousand  two  hundred  and  threescore  days,  clothed  in  sackcloth. 

'  Dan.  vii,  25.  *  Dan.  ix.  27.  »  John  xvi.  33. 

12 


178  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

These  are  the  two  olive  trees,  and  the  two  candlesticks  standing  before 
the  Lord  of  the  earth.  And  if  anj'  man  desireth  to  hurt  them,  fire  pro- 
ceedeth  out  of  their  mouth,  and  devoureth  their  enemies :  and  if  any 
man  shall  desire  to  hurt  them,  in  this  manner  must  he  be  killed. 
These  have  the  power  to  shut  the  heaven,  that  it  rain  not  during  the 
days  of  their  prophecy  :  and  they  have  power  over  the  waters  to  turn 
them  into  blood,  and  to  smite  the  earth  with  every  plague,  as  often  as 
they  shall  desire.  And  when  they  shall  have  finished  their  testimony, 
the  beast  that  cometh  up  out  of  the  abyss  shall  make  war  with  them, 
and  overcome  them,  and  kill  them.  And  their  dead  body  lies  in  the 
street  of  the  great  city,  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt, 
where  also  their  Lord  was  crucified.  And  from  among  the  peoples  and 
tribes  and  tongues  and  nations  do  men  look  upon  their  dead  body 
three  days  and  an  half,  and  suff"er  not  their  dead  bodies  to  be  laid  in 
a  tomb.  And  thej?^  that  dwell  on  the  earth  rejoice  over  them,  and 
make  merry  :  and  they  shall  send  gifts  one  to  another;  because  these 
two  prophets  tormented  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth.  And  after 
the  three  days  and  an  half  the  breath  of  life  from  God  entered  into 
them,  and  they  stood  upon  their  feet ;  and  great  fear  fell  upon  them 
which  beheld  them.  And  they  heard  a  great  voice  from  heaven 
saying  unto  them,  Come  up  hither.  And  they  went  up  into  heaven 
in  the  cloud  ;  and  their  enemies  beheld  them.  And  in  that  hour 
there  was  a  great  earthquake,  and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell ;  and 
there  were  killed  in  the  earthquake  seven  thousand  persons  :  and  the 
rest  were  affrighted,  and  gave  glory  to  the  God  of  heaven  (xi.  3-13). 

The  figures  of  this  part  of  the  vision,  like  those 
of  the  first  part,  are  drawn  from  the  Old  Testament. 
That  the  language  is  not  to  be  literally  understood 
hardly  admits  of  dispute,  for,  whatever  might  have 
been  thought  of  the  "  two  witnesses  "  had  we  read  only 
of  them,  the  description  given  of  their  persons,  or  of 
their  person  (for  in  ver.  8,  where  mention  is  made  of 
their  dead  body — not  "  bodies  " — they  are  treated  as  one), 
of  their  work,  of  their  death,  and  of  their  resurrection 
and  ascension,  is  so  obviously  figurative  as  to  render 
it  necessary  to  view  the  whole  passage  in  that  light. 
The  main  elements  of  the  figure  are  supplied  by  the 
prophet  Zechariah.  "And  the  angel  that  talked  with 
me,"  says  the  prophet,  '^  came  again,  and  waked  me,  as 


xi.3-i3.]  THE   TWO    WITNESSES.  179 

a  man  that  is  wakened  out  of  sleep,  and  said  unto  me, 
What  seest  thou  ?  And  I  said,  I  have  looked,  and 
behold  a  candlestick  all  of  gold,  with  a  bowl  upon  the 
top  of  it,  and  his  seven  lamps  thereon,  and  seven  pipes 
to  the  seven  lamps,  which  are  upon  the  top  thereof: 
and  two  oHve  trees  by  it,  one  upon  the  right  side  of 
the  bowl,  and  the  other  upon  the  left  side  thereof. 
So  I  answered  and  spake  to  the  angel  that  talked  with 
me,  saying,  What  are  these,  my  lord  ?  .  .  .  Then  he 
answered  and  spake  unto  me,  saying,  This  is  the  word 
of  the  Lord  unto  Zerubbabel,  saying,  Not  by  might, 
nor  by  power,  but  by  My  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
Who  art  thou,  O  great  mountain  ?  before  Zerubbabel 
thou  shalt  become  a  plain  :  and  he  shall  bring  forth  the 
headstone  thereof  with  shoutings,  crying,  Grace,  grace 
unto  it.  .  .  .  Then  answered  I,  and  said  unto  him, 
What  are  these  two  olive  trees  upon  the  right  side  of 
the  candlestick  and  upon  the  left  side  thereof?  And 
I  answered  again,  and  said  unto  him,  What  be  these 
two  olive  branches  which  through  the  two  golden  pipes 
empt^  the  golden  oil  out  of  themselves  ?  And  he 
answered  and  said  unto  me,  Knowest  thou  not  what 
these  be  ?  And  I  said,  No,  my  lord.  Then  said  he. 
These  are  the  two  anointed  ones,  that  stand  by  the 
Lord  of  the  whole  earth."  ^  In  these  words  indeed  we 
read  only  of  one  golden  candlestick,  while  now  we 
read  of  two.  But  we  have  already  found  that  the  Seer 
of  the  Apocalypse,  in  using  the  figures  to  which  he  had 
been  accustomed,  does  not  bind  himself  to  all  their 
details  ;  and  the  only  inference  to  be  drawn  from  this 
difference,  as  well  as  from  the  circumstance  already 
noted  in  ver.  8,  is  that  the  number  "  two  "  is  to  be 

'  Zech.  iv. 


i8o  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

regarded  less  in  itself  than  as  a  strengthening  of  the 
idea  of  the  number  one.  This  circumstance  further 
shows  that  the  two  witnesses  cannot  be  divided  between 
the  two  olive  trees  and  the  two  candlesticks,  as  if  the 
one  witness  were  the  former  and  the  other  the  latter. 
Both  taken  together  express  the  idea  of  witnessing, 
and  to  the  full  elucidation  of  that  idea  belong  also 
the  olive  tree  and  the  candlestick.  The  witnessing  is 
fed  by  perpetual  streams  of  that  heavenly  oil,  of  that 
unction  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  represented  by  the 
olive  tree  ;  and  it  sheds  light  around  like  the  candlestick. 
The  two  witnesses,  therefore,  are  not  two  individuals 
to  be  raised  up  during  the  course  of  the  Church's 
history,  that  they  may  bear  testimony  to  the  facts  and 
principles  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  Seer  indeed  may 
have  remembered  that  it  had  been  God's  plan  in  the 
past  to  commission  His  servants,  not  singly,  but  in 
pairs.  He  may  have  called  to  mind  Moses  and  Aaron, 
Joshua  and  Caleb,  Elijah  and  Elisha,  Zerubbabel  and 
Joshua,  or  he  may  have  thought  of  the  fact  that  our 
Lord  sent  forth  His  disciples  two  by  two.  The  proba- 
bility, however,  is  that,  as  he  speaks  of  "  witnessing,^' 
he  thought  mainly  of  that  precept  of  the  law  which 
required  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  confirm  a 
statement.  Yet  he  does  not  confine  himself  to  the 
thought  of  two  individual  witnesses,  however  eminent, 
who  shall  in  faithful  work  fill  up  their  own  short  span 
of  human  life  and  die.  The  witness  he  has  in  view 
is  that  to  be  borne  by  all  Christ's  people,  everywhere, 
and  throughout  the  whole  Christian  age.  From  the 
first  to  the  last  moment  of  the  Church's  history  in  this 
world  there  shall  be  those  raised  up  who  shall  never 
fail  to  prophesy ^  or,  in  other  words,  to  testify  to  the 
truth  of  God  as  it  is  in  Jesus.     The  task  will  be  hard, 


xi.3-i3-]  THE   TWO    WITNESSES.  i8i 

but  they  will  not  shrink  from  it.  They  shall  be  clothed 
in  sackcloth,  but  they  shall  count  their  robes  of  shame 
to  be  robes  of  honour.  They  shall  occupy  the  position 
of  Him  who,  in  the  days  of  His  humiliation,  was  the 
^'  faithful  and  true  Witness."  Nourished  by  the  Spirit 
that  was  in  Him,  they  shall,  like  Him,  be  the  light  of 
the  world,^  so  that  God  shall  never  be  left  without 
some  at  least  to  witness  for  Him. 

Having  spoken  of  the  persons  of  the  two  witnesses, 
St.  John  next  proceeds  to  describe  the  power  with 
which,  amidst  their  seeming  weakness,  their  testimony 
is  borne ;  and  once  more  he  finds  in  the  most  striking 
histories  of  the  Old  Testament  the  materials  with 
which  his  glowing  imagination  builds. 

In  the  first  place,  fire  proceedeth  out  of  their  month,  and 
devoureth  their  enemies,  so  that  these  enemies  are  killed 
by  the  manifest  judgment  of  God,  and  even,  in  His 
righteous  retribution,  by  the  very  instrument  of  destruc- 
tion they  would  have  themselves  employed.  Elijah  and 
the  three  companions  of  Daniel  are  before  us,  when  at 
the  word  of  Elijah  fire  descended  out  of  heaven,  and 
consumed  the  two  captains  and  their  fifties/  and  when 
the  companions  of  Daniel  were  not  only  left  unharmed 
amidst  the  flames,  but  when  the  fire  leaped  out  upon 
and  slew  the  men  by  whom  they  had  been  cast  into 
the  furnace.^  This  fire  proceeding  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  two  witnesses  is  like  the  sharp  two-edged  sword 
proceeding  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Son  of  man  in 
the  first  vision  of  the  book.*  In  the  second  place,  the 
witnesses  have  the  power  to  shut  the  heaven,  that  it  rain 
not  during  the  days  of  their  prophecy.     Elijah  is  again 


1  John  viii.  12.     Comp.  Matt.  v.  14.  ^  Dan.  iii.  2X. 

*  2  Kings  i.  10,  12.  *  Chap.  i.  16. 


1 82  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

before  us  when  he  exclaimed  in  the  presence  of  Ahab, 
"  As  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  liveth,  before  whom  I 
stand,  there  shall  not  be  dew  nor  rain  these  years,  but 
according  to  my  word,"  and  when  "  it  rained  not  on 
the  earth  for  three  years  and  six  months."^  Finally, 
when  we  are  told  that  the  witnesses  hava  power  over 
the  waters  to  turn  them  into  blood,  and  to  smite  the  earth 
with  every  plague,  as  often  as  they  shall  desire,  we  are 
reminded  of  Moses  and  of  the  plagues  inflicted  through 
him  upon  the  oppressors  of  Israel  in  Egypt. 

The  three  figures  teach  the  same  lesson.  No  deliver- 
ance has  been  effected  by  the  Almighty  for  His  people 
in  the  past  which  He  is  not  ready  to  repeat.  The  God 
of  Moses,  and  Elijah,  and  Daniel  is  the  unchangeable 
Jehovah.  He  has  made  with  His  Church  an  everlasting 
covenant ;  and  the  most  striking  manifestations  of  His 
power  in  b^-gone  times  "  happened  by  way  of  example, 
and  were  written  for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the 
ends  of  the  ages  are  come."^ 

Hence,  accordingly,  the  C\\\irch  finishes  her  testimony.^ 
So  was  it  with  our  Lord  in  His  high-priestly  prayer 
and  on  the  Cross :  *'  I  glorified  Thee  on  the  earth, 
having  accomph^^hed  the  work  which  Thou  hast  given 
Me  to  do ;  "  ''  It  is  finished."^  But  this  "  finishing  "  of 
their  testimony  on  the  part  of  the  two  witnesses  points 
to  more  than  the  end  of  the  three  and  a  half  years 
viewed  simply  as  a  period  of  time.  Not  the  thought 
of  time  alone,  but  of  the  completion  of  testimony,  is 
present  to  the  Seer's  mind.  At  every  moment  in  the 
history  of  Christ's  true  disciples  that  completion  is 
reached  by  some  or  others  of  their  number.     Through 


'  I  Kings  xvii,  i  ;  James  v.  17.  '  I  Cor.  x.  II, 

^  Ver.  7.  "  John  xvii.  4 ;  xix.  30. 


xi.3-i3-]  THE   TWO    WITNESSES.  183 

all  the  three  and  a  half  years  their  testimony  is  borne 
with  power,  and  is  finished  with  triumph,  so  that  the 
world  is  always  without  excuse. 

Having  spoken  of  the  power  of  the  witnesses, 
St.  John  next  turns  to  the  thought  of  their  evil  fate. 
The  beast  that  cometh  up  out  of  the  abyss  shall  make  war 
with  them,  and  overcome  them,  and  kill  them.  This 
''beast"  has  not  yet  been  described;  but  it  is  a  cha- 
racteristic of  the  Apostle,  both  in  the  fourth  Gospel 
and  in  the  Apocalypse,  to  anticipate  at  times  what  is 
to  come,  and  to  introduce  persons  to  our  notice  whom 
we  shall  only  learn  to  know  fully  at  a  later  point  in 
his  narrative.  That  is  the  case  here.  This  beast  will 
again  meet  us  in  chap.  xiii.  and  chap,  xvii.,  where  we 
shall  see  that  it  is  the  concentrated  power  of  a  world 
material  and  visible  in  its  opposition  to  a  world  spiritual 
and  invisible.  It  may  be  well  to  remark,  too,  that  the 
representation  given  of  the  beast  presents  us  with  one 
of  the  most  striking  contrasts  of  St.  John,  and  one  that 
must  be  carefully  remembered  if  we  would  understand 
his  visions.  Why  speak  of  its  ''coming  up  out  of  the 
abyss "  ?  Because  the  beast  is  the  contrast  of  the 
risen  Saviour.  Only  after  His  resurrection  did  our 
Lord  enter  upon  His  dominion  as  King,  Head,  and 
Guardian  of  His  people.  In  like  manner  only  after  a 
resurrection  mockingly  attributed  to  it  does  this  beast 
attain  its  full  range  of  influence.  Then,  in  the  height 
of  its  rage  and  at  the  summit  of  its  power,  it  sets  itself 
in  opposition  to  Christ's  witnesses.  It  cannot  indeed 
prevent  them  from  accomplishing  their  work;  they 
shall  finish  their  testimony  in  spite  of  it :  but,  when 
that  is  done,  it  shall  gain  an  apparent  triumph.  As 
the  Son  of  God  was  nailed  to  the  Cross,  and  in  that 
hour  of  His  weakness  seemed  to  be  conquered  by  the 


i84  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

world,  so  shall  it  be  with  them.  They  shall  be  over- 
come and  killed. 

Nor  is  that  all,  for  their  dead  body  (not  dead  bodies'^) 
is  treated  with  the  utmost  contumely.  It  lies  in  the 
broad  open  street  of  the  great  city^  which  the  words 
where  also  their  Lord  was  crucified  show  plainly  to  be 
Jerusalem.  But  Jerusalem !  In  what  aspect  is  she 
here  beheld  ?  Not  as  ''  the  holy  city,"  "  the  beloved 
city,"  the  Zicn  which  God  had  desired  for  His  habita- 
tion, and  of  which  He  had  said,  "  This  is  My  rest 
for  ever  :  here  will  I  dwell ;  for  I  have  desired  it,"  ^  but 
degenerate  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem  become  as  Sodom 
for  its  wickedness,  and  as  Egypt  for  its  oppression  of 
the  Israel  of  God.  The  language  is  strong,  so  strong 
that  many  interpreters  have  deemed  it  impossible  to 
apply  it  to  Jerusalem  in  any  sense,  and  have  imagined 
that  they  had  no  alternative  but  to  think  of  Rome. 
Yet  it  is  not  stronger  than  the  language  used  many  a 
time  by  the  prophets  of  old :  '^  Hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  ye  rulers  of  Sodom  ;  give  ear  unto  the  law  of 
our  God,  ye  people  of  Gomorrah.  How  is  the  faith- 
ful city  become  an  harlot !  .  .  .  righteousness  lodged  in 
it;  but  now  murderers."^ 

If,  however,  this  city  be  Jerusalem,  what  does  it 
represent  ?  Surely,  for  reasons  already  stated,  neither 
the  true  disciples  of  Jesus,  nor  the  heathen  nations  of 
the  world.  We  have  the  degenerate  Church  before  us, 
the  Church  that  has  conformed  to  the  world.  That 
Church  beholds  the  faithful  witnesses  for  Christ  the 
Crucified  lie  in  the  open  way.  Their  wounds  make  no 
impression  upon  her  heart,  and  draw  no  tear  from  her 
eyes.     She  even    invites    the  world   to  the  spectacle ; 

'  See  margin  of  R.V.     •    *  Ps.  cxxxii.  13,  14.         ^  Isa.  i,  10,  21. 


xi.3-i3-]  THE   TV/0    WITNESSES.  185 

and  the  world,  always  eager  to  hear  the  voice  of  a 
degenerate  Church,  responds  to  the  invitation.  It 
'*  looks,"  and  obviously  without  commiseration,  upon 
the  prostrate,  mangled  form  that  has  fallen  in  the 
strife.  This  it  does  for  three  days  and  a  half,  the 
half  of  seven,  a  broken  period  of  trouble;  and  it  will 
not  suffer  the  dead  body  to  be  laid  in  a  tomb.  Nay, 
the  world  is  not  content  even  with  its  victory.  After 
victory  it  must  have  its  triumph ;  and  that  triumph  is 
presented  to  us  in  one  of  the  most  wonderful  pictures 
of  the  Apocalypse,  when  they  thai  dwell  on  the  earth — • 
that  is,  the  men  of  the  world — -from  among  the  peoples 
and  tribes  and  tongues  and  nations,  having  listened  to 
the  degenerate  Church's  call,  make  high  holiday  at 
the  thought  of  what  they  have  done.  They  rejoice  over 
the  dead  bodies,  and  make  merry :  and  they  send  gifts  one 
to  another ;  because  these  two  prophets  tormented  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth.  We  are  reminded  of  Herod 
and  Pilate,  who,  when  the  Jewish  governor  sent  Jesus 
to  his  heathen  brother,  "  became  friends  that  very 
day."^  But  we  are  reminded  of  more.  In  the  book 
of  Nehemiah  we  find  mention  of  that  great  feast  of 
Tabernacles  which  was  observed  by  the  people  when 
they  heard  again,  after  long  silence,  the  book  of  the 
law,  and  when  "  there  was  very  great  gladness."  In 
immediate  connexion  with  this  feast,  Nehemiah  said 
to  the  people,  "  Go  your  way,  eat  the  fat,  and  drink 
the  sweet,  and  send  portions  unto  them  for  whom 
nothing  is  prepared :  for  this  day  is  holy  unto  the 
Lord  :  neither  be  ye  sorry ;  for  the  joy  of  the  Lord 
.is  your  strength "2;  while  it  constituted  a  part  also 
of  the  joyful  ceremonial  of  the  feast  of  the  dedication 

*  Luke  xxiii.  12.  *  Neh.  viii.  lO, 


1 86  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  the  Temple  that  the  Jews  made  the  days  of  the 
feast  ''days  of  feasting  and  joy,  and  of  sending  por- 
tions one  to  another,  and  gifts  to  the  poor."^  Taking 
these  passages  into  account,  and  remembering  the 
general  style  and  manner  of  St.  John,  we  can  have  no 
hesitation  in  recognising  in  the  festival  of  these  verses 
the  world's  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  the  contrast  and  the 
counterpart  of  the  Church's  feast  already  spoken  of 
in  the  second  consolatory  vision  of  chap.  vii. 

If  so,  what  a  picture  does  it  present ! — the  degenerate 
Church  inviting  the  world  to  celebrate  a  feast  over  the 
dead  bodies  of  the  witnesses  for  Christ,  and  the  world 
accepting  the  invitation ;  the  former  accommodating 
herself  to  the  ways  of  the  latter,  and  the  latter  wel- 
coming the  accommodation ;  the  one  proclaiming  no 
unpleasant  doctrines  and  demanding  no  painful  sacri- 
fices, the  other  hailing  with  satisfaction  the  prospect 
of  an  easy  yoke  and  of  a  cheap  purchase  of  eternity 
as  well  as  time.  The  picture  may  seem  too  terrible  to 
be  true.  But  let  us  first  remember  that,  like  all  the 
pictures  of  the  Apocalypse,  it  is  ideal,  showing  us  the 
operation  of  principles  in  their  last,  not  their  first,  effect ; 
and  then  let  us  ask  whether  we  have  never  read  of, 
or  ourselves  seen,  such  a  state  of  things  actually 
realized.  Has  the  Church  never  become  the  world, 
on  the  plea  that  she  would  gain  the  world  ?  Has  she 
never  uttered  smooth  things  or  prophesied  deceits  in 
order  that  she  might  attract  those  who  will  not  endure 
the  thought  of  hardness  in  religious  service,  and  would 
rather  embrace  what  in  their  inward  hearts  they  know 
to  be  a  lie  than  bitter  truth  ?  Such  a  spectacle  has 
been  often  witnessed,  and  is  yet  witnessed  every  day, 

'  Esther  ix.  22. 


xi.3-i3.  THE   TWO    WITNESSES.  187 

when  those  who  ought  to  be  witnesses  for  a  living 
and  present  Lord  gloze  over  the  pecuhar  doctrines  of 
the  Christian  faith,  draw  as  close  as  possible  the  bonds 
of  their  fellowship  with  unchristian  men,  and  treat  with 
scorn  the  thought  of  a  heavenly  life  to  be  led  even 
amidst  the  things  of  time.  One  can  understand  the 
world's  own  ways,  and,  even  when  lamenting  that  its 
motives  are  not  higher,  can  love  its  citizens  and  respect 
their  virtues.  But  a  far  lower  step  in  declension  is 
reached  when  the  Church's  silver  becomes  dross,  when 
her  wine  is  mixed  with  water,  and  when  her  voice  no 
longer  convicts,  no  longer  "  torments  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth." 

In  the  midst  of  all  their  tribulation,  however,  the 
faithful  portion  of  the  Church  have  a  glorious  reward. 
They  have  suffered  with  Christ,  but  they  shall  also 
reign  with  Him.  After  all  their  trials  in  life,  after 
their  death,  and  after  the  limited  time  during  which 
even  when  dead  they  have  been  dishonoured,  they  live 
a  gam.  The  breath  of  life  from  God  entered  into  them. 
Following  Him  who  is  the  first-fruits  of  them  that 
sleep,  \h^^  stood  upon  their  feet}  TYi^y  heard  a  great  voice 
from  heaven  saying  unto  them,  Come  up  hither.  They 
went  up  into  heaven  in  the  cloud ;  and  there  they  sit  down 
with  the  conquering  Redeemer  in  His  throne,  even 
as  He  overcame  and  sat  down  with  His  Father  in  His 
throne.^  All  this,  too,  takes  place  in  the  very  presence 
of  their  enemies,  upon  whom  great  fear  fell.  Even 
nature  sympathizes  with  them.  Having  waited  for 
the  revealing  of  the  sons  of  God,  and  in  hope  that  she 
also  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption 
into  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God,^ 

*  Comp.  chap.  v.  6,       ^  Chap.  iii.  21.         ^  Rom,  viii.  19,  21. 


I88  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

she  hails  their  final  triumph.  There  was  a  great  earth- 
quake, the  tenth  part  of  the  city  (that  is,  of  Jerusalem) 
fell ;  and  there  were  killed  in  the  earthquake  seven  thousand 
persons.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  words  are 
figurative  and  symbolical,  denoting  in  all  probability 
simply  judgment,  but  judgment  restrained. 

The  last  words  of  the  vision  alone  demand  more 
particular  attention  :  The  rest  were  affrighted,  and  gave 
glory  to  the  God  of  heaven.  The  thought  is  the  same 
as  that  which  met  us  when  we  were  told  at  the  close 
of  the  sixth  Trumpet  that  "  the  rest  of  mankind  which 
were  not  killed  with  these  plagues  repented  not."  ^ 
There  is  no  repentance,  no  conversion.  There  is 
terror ;  there  is  alarm  ;  there  is  a  tribute  of  awe  to 
the  God  of  heaven  who  has  so  signally  vindicated  His 
own  cause ;  but  there  is  nothing  more.  Nor  are  we 
told  what  may  or  may  not  follow  in  some  future  scene. 
For  the  Seer  the  final  triumph  of  good  and  the  final 
overthrow  of  evil  are  enough.  He  can  be  patient, 
and,  so  far  as  persons  are  concerned,  can  leave  the 
issue  in  the  hands  of  God. 

The  two  consolatory  visions  interposed  between  the 
sixth  and  seventh  Trumpets  are  now  over,  and  we 
cannot  fail  to  see  how  great  an  advance  they  are  upon 
ihe  two  visions  of  a  similar  kind  interposed  between 
the  sixth  and  seventh  Seals.  The  whole  action  has 
made  progress.  At  the  earlier  stage  the  Church 
may  be  said  to  have  been  hidden  in  the  hollow  of 
the  Almighty's  hand.  In  the  thought  of  the  ''great 
tribulation  "  awaiting  her  she  has  been  sealed,  while 
the  peace  and  joy  of  her  new  condition  have  been  set 
before  us,  as  she   neither  hungers  nor  thirsts,  but  is 

*  Chap.  ix.  20. 


xi.  15-19.]  THE  SEVENTH  TRUMPET.  189 

guided  by  her  Divine  Shepherd  to  green  pastures  and 
to  fountains  of  the  waters  of  Hfe.  At  this  later  stage 
she  is  in  the  midst  of  her  conflict  and  her  sufferings. 
She  is  in  the  heat  of  her  warfare,  in  the  extremity 
of  her  persecuted  state.  From  the  height  on  which 
we  stand  we  do  not  look  over  a  quiet  and  peaceful 
plain,  with  flocks  of  sheep  resting  in  its  meadows ;  we 
look  over  a  field  where  armed  men  have  met  in  the 
shock  of  battle.  There  is  the  stir,  the  excitement,  the 
tumult  of  deadly  strife  for  higher  than  earthly  freedom, 
for  dearer  than  earthly  homes.  There  may  be  tem- 
porary repulse  and  momentary  yielding  even  on  the 
side  of  the  good,  but  they  still  press  on.  The  Captain 
of  their  salvation  is  at  their  head ;  and  foot  by  foot 
fresh  ground  is  won,  until  at  last  the  victory  is  sounded, 
and  we  are  ready  for  the  seventh  Trumpet. 

Before  it  sounds  there  is  a  warning  similar  to  that 
which  preceded  the  sounding  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  ^ : — 

The  second  Woe  is  past ;  behold,  the  third  Woe  cometh  quickly 
(xi.  14). 

These  words  are  to  be  connected  with  the  close  of 
chap,  ix.,  all  that  is  contained  in  chaps,  x.  and  xi.  1-13 
being,  as  we  have  seen,  episodical. 

The  seventh  Trumpet  is  now  sounded  : — 

And  the  seventh  angel  sounded ;  and  there  followed  great  voices  in 
heaven,  and  they  said.  The  kingdom  of  the  world  is  become  the  kingdom 
of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  Christ ;  and  He  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 
And  the  four-and-twenty  elders,  which  sit  before  God  on  their  thrones, 
fell  upon  their  faces,  and  worshipped  God,  saying.  We  give  Thee 
thanks,  O  Lord,  God,  the  Almighty,  which  art  and  which  wast; 
because  Thou  hast  taken  Thy  great  power,  and  didst  reign.  And  the 
nations  were  roused  to  wrath,  and  Thy  wrath  came,  and  the  time  of 
the  dead  to  be  judged,  and  the  time  to  give  their  reward  to  Thy 

*  Chaps,  viii.  13  ;  ix.  12. 


190  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

servants  the  prophets,  both  the  saints  and  them  that  fear  Thy  name, 
the  small  and  the  great,  and  to  destroy  them  that  destroy  the 
earth.  And  there  was  opened  the  temple  of  God  that  is  in  heaven, 
and  there  was  seen  in  His  temple  the  ark  of  His  covenant :  and  there 
followed  lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunders,  and  an  earthquake,  and 
great  hail  (xi,  15-19). 

I.  By  the  kingdom  of  the  world  here  spoken  of  is 
meant,  that  dominion  over  the  world  as  a  whole  has 
become  the  possession  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ ; 
and  it  is  to  be  His  for  ever  and  ever.  There  is 
no  contradiction  between  this  statement  of  St.  John 
and  that  of  St.  Paul  when,  speaking  of  the  Son,  the 
latter  Apostle  says,  "  And  when  all  things  have  been 
subjected  unto  Him,  then  shall  the  Son  also  Himself 
be  subjected  to  Him  that  -did  subject  all  things  unto 
Him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all."^  The  "kingdom" 
thus  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul  is  that  exercised  by  our 
Lord  in  subduing  His  enemies,  and  it  must  necessarily 
come  to  an  end  when  there  are  no  more  enemies  to 
subdue.  The  kingdom  here  referred  to  is  Christ's 
dominion  as  Head  and  King  of  His  Church,  and  of 
that  dominion  there  is  no  end.  Of  more  consequence 
perhaps  is  it  to  observe  that  when  it  is  said  in  the 
words  before  us.  The  kingdom  of  the  world  is  become  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  Christ,  there  is  nothing 
to  lead  to  the  supposition  that  this  "  kingdom  "  becomes 
Christ's  by  the  conversion  of  the  world.  The  meaning 
simply  is  that  evil  has  been  finally  and  for  ever  put 
down,  that  good  is  finally  and  for  ever  triumphant. 
No  inference  can  be  drawn  as  to  the  fate  of  wicked 
persons  further  than  this  :  that  they  shall  not  be  found 
in  *'the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness."^    Were  additional  proof  needed 

»  I  Cor.  XV.  28.  ^  2  Pet.  iii.  13. 


xi.  15-19.]  THE  SEVENTH  TRUMPET.  191 

upon  this  point,  it  would  be  supplied  by  the  fact  that 
in  almost  the  next  following  words  we  read  of  the 
nations  being  roused  to  wrath.  These  are  the  wicked 
upon  whom  judgment  falls ;  and,  instead  of  being 
converted,  they  are  roused  to  the  last  and  highest 
outburst  of  the  wickedness  which  springs  from  despair. 

2.  The  song  of  the  four-and-twenty  elders.  We 
have  already  had  occasion  to  notice  that  song  of  the 
representatives  of  redeemed  creation  in  which  the  four 
living  creatures  celebrated  ''  the  Lord,  God,  the 
Almighty,  which  was  and  which  is  and  which  is  to 
come."^  The  song  now  before  us,  sung  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  glorified  Church,  is  cast  in  precisely 
the  same  mould  of  three  ascriptions  of  praise  to  the 
Lord.  But  in  the  third  member  there  is  an  important 
difference,  the  words  "and  which  is  to  come"  being 
emitted.  The  explanation  is  that  the  Lord  is  come. 
The  present  dispensation  is  at  its  close. 

3.  The  events  of  the  close  are  next  described.  It  is 
the  time  of  the  dead  to  he  judged^  and  the  time  to  give 
reward  to  God's  faithful  servants,  to  whatever  part 
of  mankind  they  have  belonged,  and  whatever  the 
position  they  have  filled  in  life.  The  whole  family  of 
man  is  divided  into  two  great  classes  ;  and  for  the  one 
there  is  judgment,  for  the  other  reward. 

4.  Before  passing  on  it  may  be  well  to  call  attention 
to  one  or  two  particulars  in  these  verses  which,  though 
not  specially  connected  with  that  general  meaning  of 
the  passage  which  it  is  the  main  object  of  this  com- 
mentary to  elicit,  may  help  to  throw  light  upon  the 
style  of  the  Apostle  and  the  structure  of  his  work. 

(i)  Thus  it  is  important  to  observe  his  use  of  the 

»  Chap.  iv.  8. 


192  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

word  prophets.  The  persons  spoken  of  are  obviously 
in  contrast  with  "  the  nations "  and  ^'  the  dead  to  be 
judged,"  and  they  must  include  all  who  are  faithful 
unto  death.  Already  we  have  seen  that  every  true 
follower  of  Christ  is  in  St.  John's  eyes  a  martyr,  and 
that  when  he  thinks  of  the  martyrs  of  the  Church 
he  has  a  far  wider  circle  in  view  than  that  of  those 
who  meet  death  by  the  sword  or  at  the  stake.^  To 
his  ideal  conceptions  of  things  the  martyr  spirit  makes 
the  martyr,  and  the  martyr  spirit  must  rule  in  every 
disciple  of  the  Crucified.  In  Hke  manner  the  prophetic 
spirit  makes  the  prophet,  and  of  that  spirit  no  true 
follower  of  Him  in  whom  prophecy  culminated  can 
be  devoid.  In  this  very  chapter  we  have  read  of 
"  prophesying  "  as  the  work  of  the  two  witnesses  who 
are  a  symbol  of  the  whole  Christian  Church,  and 
who  prophesy  through  the  thousand  two  hundred 
and  threescore  days  of  her  pilgrimage.  We  are  not 
therefore  to  suppose  that  those  here  called  "prophets" 
are  either  prophets  in  the  stricter  sense  of  the  word, 
or  commissioned  ministers  of  Christ.  All  Christ's 
people  are  His  "servants  the  prophets,"  and  the 
idealism  of  St.  John  distinctly  appears  in  the  designa- 
tion given  them. 

(2)  The  next  following  clause,  which  we  have  trans- 
lated in  a  manner  slightly  different  from  that  of  both 
the  Authorised  and  the  Revised  Versions,  is  not  less 
important :  both  the  saints  and  them  that  fear  Thy 
name,  instead  of  "  and  to  the  saints,  and  to  them  that 
fear  Thy  name."  It  is  the  manner  of  St.  John  to 
dwell  in  the  first  instance  upon  one  characteristic  of 
the  object  of  which  he  speaks,  and  then  to  add  other 

*  Comp.  p.  102. 


xi.  15-19.]  THE  SEVENTH  TRUMPET.  193 

characteristics  belonging  to  it,  equally  important,  it  may- 
be, in  themselves,  but  not  occupying  so  prominent 
a  place  in  the  line  of  thought  which  he  happens  to  be 
pursuing  at  the  moment.  An  illustration  of  this  is 
afforded  in  John  xiv.  6,  where  the  words  of  Jesus  are 
given  in  the  form,  ''I  am  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and 
the  Life."  The  context  shows  that  the  emphasis  rests 
wholly  on  Jesus  as  "  the  Way,"  and  that  the  addition 
of  the  words  ''  the  Truth,  and  the  Life,"  is  only  made 
to  enhance  and  complete  the  thought.  Here  in  like 
manner  the  contents  of  what  is  involved  in  the  term 
"  the  prophets  "  are  completed  by  a  further  statement  of 
what  the  prophets  are.  They  are  "  the  saints  and  they 
that  fear  God's  name."  The  twofold  structure  of  this 
statement,  however,  again  illustrates  the  manner  of  St. 
John.  ^'  The  saints  "  is,  properly  speaking,  a  Jewish 
epithet,  while  every  reader  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  ''they  that  fear  God  "  was 
a  term  applied  to  Gentile  proselytes  to  Judaism.  We 
have  thus  an  instance  of  St.  John's  method  of  regarding 
the  topic  with  which  he  deals  from  a  double  point 
of  view,  the  first  Jewish,  the  second  Gentile.  Lie  is 
not  thinking  of  two  divisions  of  the  Church.  The 
Church  is  one;  all  her  members  constitute  one  Body 
in  Christ.  But  looked  at  from  the  Jev*'ish  standpoint, 
they  are  "  the  saints  ; "  from  the  Gentile,  they  are  those 
that  ''  fear  Thy  name." 

(3)  The  verses  under  consideration  afford  a  marked 
illustration  of  St.  John's  love  of  presenting  judgment 
under  the  form  of  the  lex  talioiiis.  The  nations  were 
^'roused  to  wrath,"  and  upon  them  God's  ''wrath 
came."  They  had  "  destroyed  the  earth,"  and  God 
would  "destroy"  them.  In  studying  the  Apocalypse, 
all  peculiarities  of  style  or  structure  ought  to  be  present 

13 


194  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATIO.Y. 

to    the    mind.      They    are   not   unfrequently   valuable 
guides  to  interpretation. 

The  seventh  Trumpet  has  sounded,  and  the  end  has 
come.  A  glorious  moment  has  been  reached  in  the 
development  of  the  Almighty's  plan ;  and  the  mind 
of  the  Seer  is  exalted  and  ravished  by  the  prospect. 
Yet  he  beholds  no  passing  away  of  the  present  earth 
and  heavens,  no  translation  of  the  reign  of  good  to 
an  unseen  spiritp:.ial  and  hitherto  unvisited  region  of 
the  universe.  It  would  be  out  of  keeping  with  the 
usual  phraseology  of  his  book  to  understand  by 
heaven^  in  which  he  sees  the  ark  of  God's  covenant, 
a  locality,  a  place  *'  beyond  the  clouds  and  beyond  the 
tomb."  His  employment  of  the  contrasted  words 
*' earth"  and  "heaven"  throughout  his  whole  series 
of  visions  rather  leads  to  the  supposition  that  by  the 
latter  we  are  to  understand  that  region,  wherever  it 
may  be,  in  which  spiritual  principles  alone  bear  sway. 
It  may  be  here ;  it  may  be  elsewhere ;  it  seems  hardly 
possible  to  say :  but  the  more  the  reader  enters  into 
the  spirit  of  this  book,  the  more  difficult  will  he  find 
it  to  resist  the  impression  that  St.  John  thinks  of 
this  present  world  as  not  only  the  scene  of  the  great 
struggle  between  good  and  evil,  but  also,  when  it  has 
been  cleansed  and  purified,  as  the  seat  of  everlasting 
righteousness.  These  in  the  present  instance  are 
striking  words:  "to  destroy  them  that  destroy  the 
earth."  Why  not  destroy  the  earth  itself  if  it  is  only 
to  be  burned  up  ?  Why  speak  of  it  in  such  terms  as 
lead  almost  directly  to  the  supposition  that  it  shall  be 
preserved  though  its  destroyers  perish  ?  While,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  God  at  first  pronounced  it  to  be  "  very 
good ; "  if  it  may  be  a  home  of  truth,  and  purity,  and 
holiness ;  and  if  it  shall  be  the  scene  of  Christ's  future 


xi.  15-19.]  THE  SEVENTH  7RUMPET,  195 

and  glorious  reign, — then  may  we  justly  say,  Woe 
to  them  that  destroy  the  habitation,  the  palace,  now 
preparing  for  the  Prince  of  peace. 

However  this  may  be,  it  was  a  fitting  close  to  the 
judgments  of  the  seven  Trumpets  that  the  "temple" 
of  God — that  is,  the  innermost  shrine  or  sanctuary  of 
His  temple — should  be  opened.  There  was  no  need 
now  that  God  should  be  "a  God  that  hideth  Himself."^ 
When  earth  had  in  it  none  but  the  pure  in  heart,  why 
should  they  not  see  Him  ?  ^  He  would  dwell  in  them 
and  walk  in  them.^  The  Tabernacle  of  the  Lord 
would  be  again  with  men.* 

When  too  the  shrine  was  opened,  what  more 
appropriate  spectacle  could  be  seen  than  ^'the  ark 
of  His  covenant,"  the  symbol  of  His  faithfulness,  the 
pledge  of  that  love  of  His  which  remains  unchanged 
when  the  mountains  depart  and  the  hills  are  removed  ? 
The  covenant- keeping  God  !  No  promise  of  the 
past  had  failed,  and  the  past  was  the  earnest  of  the 
future. 

Nor  need  we  wonder  at  the  lightnings,  and  voices^ 
and  thunders,  and  the  earthquake,  and  the  great  hail  that 
followed.  For  God  had  "  promised,  saying.  Yet  once 
more  will  I  make  to  tremble  not  the  earth  only,  but  also 
the  heaven.  And  this  word,  Yet  once  more,  signifieth 
the  removing  of  those  things  that  are  shaken,  as  of 
things  that  are  made,  that  those  things  which  are  not 
shaken  may  remain."^ 

*  Isa.  xlv.  15.  3  2  Cor.  vi.  16. 

"  ]\iatt.  V.  8.  "  Chap.  xxi.  3, 

•  Heb.  xii.  26,  27, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY  OF  THE  CHURCH* 
Rev.  xii. 

THE  twelfth  chapter  of  the  Revelation  of  St.  John 
has  been  felt  by  every  commentator  to  be  one 
more  than  usually  difficult  to  interpret,  and  that 
whether  we  look  at  it  in  relation  to  its  special  purpose, 
or  to  its  position  in  the  structure  of  the  book.  If  we 
can  satisfy  ourselves  as  to  the  first  of  these  two  points, 
we  shall  be  better  able  to  form  correct  notions  as  to 
the  second. 

Turning  then  for  a  moment  to  chap,  xiii.,  we  find  it 
occupied  with  a  description  of  two  of  the  great  enemies 
with  which  the  Church  has  to  contend.  These  are 
spoken  of  as  *' a  beast"  (ver.  i)  and  ''another  beast" 
(ver.  1 1),  the  latter  being  obviously  the  same  as  that 
described  in  chap.  xix.  20  as  ''the  false  prophet  that 
wrought  the  signs"  in  the  sight  of  the  former.  At 
the  same  time,  it  is  evident  that  these  two  beasts  are 
regarded  as  enemies  of  the  Church  in  a  sense  peculiar 
to.  themselves,  for  the  victorious  Conqueror  of  chap.  xix. 
makes  war  with  them,  and  "  they  twain  are  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire  that  burneth  with  brimstone."^  This 
fate  next  overtakes,  in  chap.  xx.  lO,  "the  dragon,  the 
old  serpent,  which  is  the  devil,  and  Satan,"  so  that  no 

•  Chap.  xix.  20. 


xii.  1-6.]  THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY.  197 

doubt  can  rest  upon  the  fact  that  to  St.  John's  view 
the  great  enemies  of  the  Church  are  three  in  number. 
When,  accordingly,  we  find  two  of  them  described  in 
chap,  xiii.,  and  chap.  xii.  occupied  with  the  description 
of  another,  we  are  warranted  in  concluding  that  the 
main  purpose  of  the  chapter  is  to  set  before  us  a 
picture  of  this  last. 

Thus  also  we  are  led  to  understand  the  place  of  the 
chapter  in  the  structure  of  the  book.  We  have  already 
seen  that  the  seven  Trumpets  are  occupied  with  judg- 
ments on  the  world.  The  seven  Bowls,  forming  the 
next  and  highest  series  of  judgments,  are  to  be  occupied 
with  judgments  on  the  degenerate  members  of  the 
Church.  It  is  a  fitting  thing,  therefore,  that  we 
should  be  able  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  the  enemies  by 
which  these  faithless  disciples  are  subdued,  and  in 
resisting  whom  the  steadfastness  of  the  faithful  remnant 
shall  be  proved.  To  describe  them  sooner  was  un- 
necessary. They  are  the  friends,  not  the  enemies,  of 
the  world.  They  are  the  enemies  only  of  the  Church. 
Hence  the  sudden  transition  made  at  the  beginning  of 
chap.  xii.  There  is  no  chronological  relation  between 
it  and  the  chapters  which  precede.  The  thoughts  em- 
bodied in  it  refer  only  to  what  follows.  The  chapter  is 
obviously  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the  bearing  of 
these  parts  upon  one  another  will  appear  as  we 
proceed. 

And  a  great  sign  was  seen  in  heaven  ;  a  woman  arrayed  with  the 
sun,  and  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head  a  crown  of 
twelve  stars :  and  she  was  with  child  ;  and  she  crieth  out,  travailing 
in  birth,  and  in  pain  to  be  delivered.  And  there  was  seen  another 
sign  in  heaven  ;  and  behold  a  great  red  dragon,  having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns,  and  upon  his  heads  seven  diadems.  And  his  tail 
draweth  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  did  cast  them  into 
the  earth :  and  the  dragon  stood  before  the  woman  that  was  about  to 


198  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


be  delivered,  that  when  she  was  delivered  he  might  devour  her 
child.  And  she  was  delivered  of  a  son,  a  man-child,  who  as  a  shep- 
herd shall  tend  all  the  nations  with  a  sceptre  of  iron :  and  her  child 
was  caught  up  unto  God,  and  unto  His  throne.  And  the  woman 
fled  into  the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place  prepared  of  God,  that 
there  they  may  nourish  her  a  thousand  two  hundred  and  threescore 
days  (xii.  1-6). 

In  the  first  chapter  of  the  book  of  Genesis  we  read, 
'*  And  God  made  two  great  lights ;  the  greater  light  to 
rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the  night : 
He  made  the  stars  also."  ^  Sun,  and  moon,  and  stars 
exhaust  the  Biblical  notion  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
which  give  light  upon  the  earth.  They  therefore, 
taken  together,  clothe  this  woman ;  and  there  is  no 
need  to  search  for  any  recondite  meaning  in  the  place 
which  they  severally  occupy  in  her  investiture.  She 
is  simply  arrayed  in  light  from  head  to  foot.  In  other 
words,  she  is  the  perfect  emblem  of  light  in  its  bright- 
ness and  purity.  The  use  of  the  number  twelve  indeed 
suggests  the  thought  of  a  bond  of  connexion  between 
this  hght  and  the  Christian  Church.  The  tribes  of 
Israel,  the  type  of  God's  spiritual  Israel,  were  in 
number  twelve;  our  Lord  chose  to  Himself  twelve 
Apostles;  the  new  Jerusalem  has  ''twelve  gates,  and 
at  the  gates  twelve  angels,  and  names  written  thereon, 
which  are  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children 
of  Israel."  ^ 

But  though  the  light  is  thus  earl}''  connected  with 
the  thought  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  though  the 
subsequent  portion  of  the  chapter  confirms  the  con- 
nexion, the  woman  is  not  yet  to  be  regarded  as,  in 
the  strictest  sense,  representative  of  that  community 
or  Body  histcrically  viewed.      By-and-by  she  will  be  so. 

'  Gen.  I.  16.  ^  Chap,  xxi.  12. 


xii.  1-6]  THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY,  icg 

In  the  meantime  a  comparison  of  ver.  6  with  ver.  14, 
wh^re  her  fleeing  into  the  wilderness  and  her  nourish- 
ment in  it  for  precisely  the  same  period  of  time  as 
in  ver.  6  are  again  mentioned,  together  with  what 
we  have  already  seen  to  be  a  peculiarity  of  St.  John's 
mode  of  thought,  forbids  the  supposition.  The  Apostle 
would  not  thus  repeat  himself  We  are  entitled  there- 
fore to  infer  that  at  the  opening  of  the  chapter  he 
deals  less  with  actual  history  than  with  the  ^'  pattern  " 
of  that  history  which  had  existed  from  all  eternity 
in  the  mount.  Hence  also  it  would  seem  that  the 
birth  of  the  child,  though  undoubtedly  referring  to  the 
birth  of  Jesus,  is  not  the  actual  birth.  It,  too,  is  rather 
the  eternal  '^pattern"  of  that  event.  Similar  remarks 
apply  to  the  dragon^  who  is  not  yet  the  historical 
Satan,  and  will  only  be  so  in  the  second  paragraph, 
at  ver.  9.  The  whole  picture,  in  short,  of  these  verses 
is  one  of  the  ideal  which  precedes  the  actual,  and  of 
which  the  actual  is  the  counterpart  and  realization. 

The  resemblance,  accordingly,  borne  by  the  first 
paragraph  of  this  chapter  (vers.  1-6)  to  the  first 
paragraph  of  the  fourth  Gospel  (vers.  1-5),  is  of  the  most 
striking  kind.  In  neither  is  there  any  account  of  the 
actual  birth  of  our  Lord.  In  both  (and  we  shall  im- 
mediately see  this  still  more  fully  brought  out  in  the 
apocalyptic  vision)  we  are  introduced  to  Him  at  once, 
not  as  growing  up  to  be  the  Light  of  the  world,  but 
as  already  grown  up  and  as  perfect  light.  In  both 
we  have  the  same  light  and  the  same  darkness,  and 
in  both  the  same  contrariety  and  struggle  between  the 
two.  Nor  does  the  comparison  end  here.  We  have 
r.lso  the  same  singular  method  of  expressing  the  deliver- 
rnce  of  the  light  from  the  enmity  of  the  darkness. 
In  John  i.  5,  correctly  translated,  we  read   ^  The  light 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


shineth  in  the  darkness,  and  the  darkness  overcame 
it  not,"  the  thought  being  rather  negative  than  positive, 
rather  that  of  preservation  than  of  victory.  In  the 
Apocalypse  we  read,  And  her  child  was  caught  up  unto 
God,  and  unto  His  throne ,  the  idea  being  again  that 
of  preservation  rather  than  of  victory. 

Such  is  the  general  conception  of  the  first  para- 
'graph  of  this  chapter.  The  individual  expressions 
need  not  detain  us  long.  The  vi^oman's  raiment  of 
light  has  been  already  spoken  of.  Passing  therefore 
from  that,  it  need  occasion  no  surprise  that  He  who 
is  Himself  the  Giver  of  light  should  be  represented 
as  the  Son  of  light.  God  ''  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no 
darkness  at  all."  ^  Jesus,  as  the  Son  of  God,  is  thus 
also  the  Son  of  light.  No  doubt  the  conception  is 
continued  even  after  we  behold  the  woman  in  her 
actual,  not  her  ideal,  state.  Jesus  is  still  her  Son.^ 
Yet  there  is  a  true  sense  in  which  we  may  describe 
our  Lord  not  only  as  the  Foundation,  but  also  as  the 
Son,  of  the  Church.  He  is  ^'  the  First-born  among 
many  brethren,"^  the  elder  Brother  in  a  common  Father's 
house.  He  is  begotten  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit*;  and  they  that  believe  in  His  name  are  "born, 
not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the 
will  of  man,  but  of  God."^  So  close  indeed  in  the 
teaching  of  St.  John  is  the  identification  of  Christ  and 
His  people,  that  whatever  is  said  of  Him  may  be  said 
of  them,  and  what  is  said  of  them  may  be  said  of  Him. 
Human  thought  and  language  fail  to  do  justice  to 
a  relation  so  profound  and  mysterious.  But  it  is 
everywhere  the  teaching  of  the    beloved    disciple — in 

•  I  John  i.  5.  "  Rom.  viii.  29. 

*  Comp.  ver.  17.  ^  Matt.  i.  20. 

5  John  i.  13.  ... 


xii.  1-6.]  THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY.  201 

his  Gospel,  in  his  Epistles,  in  his  Revelation — although 
the  Church  may  not  fully  understand  it  until  she  has 
lived  herself  more  into  it  than  she  has  done.  Her 
^'life"  will  then  bring  her  ''  hght."  ^ 

The  dragon  of  the  passage  is  great  and  red:  "great  " 
because  of  the  power  which  he  possesses;  "red," 
the  colour  of  blood,  because  of  the  ferocity  with  which 
he  destroys  men :  "  He  was  a  murderer  from  the 
beginning;  "  "Cain  was  of  the  evil  one,  and  slew  his 
brother ; "  "  And  I  saw  the  woman  "  (that  is,  the  woman 
who  rode  upon  the  scarlet-coloured  beast)  "  drunk  with 
the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs 
of  Jesus.  "^  The  dragon  has  further  seven  heads, — seven, 
the  number  of  completeness,  so  that  he  possesses  every- 
thing to  enable  him  to  execute  his  plans  ;  and  fen  horns, 
the  emblem  at  once  of  his  strength  and  of  his  rule  over 
all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.  Upon  the  heads,  too,  are 
seven  diademSy  a  word  different  from  that  which  had 
been  employed  for  the  woman's  ^' crown"  in  the  first 
verse  of  the  chapter.  Hers  is  a  crown  of  victory ;  the 
diadems  of  the  dragon  are  only  marks  of  royalty,  and 
may  be  worn,  as  they  will  be  worn,  in  defeat.  The 
dragon's  tail,  again,  like  the  tails  of  the  locusts  of  the 
fifth  Trumpet  and  of  the  horses  of  the  sixth,  is  the 
instrument  with  which  he  destroys^;  and  the  third  part 
of  the  stars  oj  heaven  corresponds  to  "  the  third  part " 
mentioned  in  each  of  the  first  four  Trumpets.  The 
figure  of  casting  the  stars  into  the  earth  is  taken  from  the 
prophecy  of  Daniel,  in  which  it  is  said  of  the  "  little 
horn  "  that "  it  waxed  great,  even  to  the  host  of  heaven  ; 


*  Comp.  John  i.  4. 

*  John  viii.  44  ;    I  John  iii.  12;    Rev.  xvii.  6, 

*  Chap.  ix.  10,  19. 


202  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


and  it  cast  dowrf  some  of  the  host  and  of  the  stars  to 
the  ground,  and  stamped  upon  them."  ^ 

The  dragon  next  takes  up  his  position  before  the 
woman  which  was  about  to  be  delivered^  that  when 
she  was  delivered  he  might  devour  her  child ;  and  the 
first  historical  circumstances  to  which  the  idea  coire- 
sponds,  and  in  which  it  is  realized,  may  be  found 
in  the  effort  of  Pharaoh  to  destroy  the  infant  Moses. 
Pharaoh  is  indeed  often  compared  in  the  Old  Testament 
to  a  dragon  :  "  Thou  didst  divide  the  sea  by  Thy 
strength  :  Thou  brakest  the  h'=ads  of  the  dragons  in  the 
waters  ; "  ''  Speak,  and  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ; 
Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  the 
great  dragon  that  lieth  in  the  midst  of  his  rivers,  which 
hath  said,  My  river  is  mine  own,  and  I  have  made 
it  for  myself"^  The  power,  and  craft,  and  cruelty  of 
the  Egyptian  king  could  hardly  have  been  absent  from 
the  Seer's  mind  when  he  employed  the  figure  of  the 
text.  But  he  was  certainly  not  thinking  of  Pharaoh 
alone.  He  remembered  also  the  plot  of  Herod  to 
destroy  the  Child  Jesus.^  Pharaoh  and  Herod — men 
quailed  before  them  ;  yet  both  were  no  more  than 
instruments  in  the  hands  of  God.  Both  worked  out 
His  "  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge."  * 

The  child  is  born,  and  is  described  in  language 
worthy  of  our  notice.  He  is  a  son,  a  man-child;  and 
the  at  first  sight  tautological  information  appears  to 
hint  at  more  than  the  mere  sex  of  the  child.  He 
is  already  more  than  a  child  :  he  is  a  man.  There 
is  a  similar  emphasis  in  the  words  of  our  Lord  when 
He  said  to  His  disciples  in  His  last  consolatory  dis- 
course, "A  woman  when  she  is  in  travail  hath  sorrow, 

1  Dan,  viii.  lo.  ^  Matt,  ii.  l6. 

*  Ps.  Ixxiv.  13 ;  Ezek.  xxix,  3.  ■•  Acts  ii.  23. 


xii.  1-6.]  THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY.  203 

because  her  hour  is  come  :  but  when  she  is  dehvered 
of  the  child,  she  remembereth  no  more  the  anguish,  for 
the  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into  the  world."  ^  From  the 
first  the  child  is  less  a  child  than  a  man,  strong,  muscular, 
and  vigorous,  who  as  a  shepherd  shall  tend  all  the  nations 
with  a  sceptre  of  iron.  Strange  that  we  should  be 
invited  to  dwell  on  this  ideal  aspect  of  the  Son's  work 
rather  than  any  other  !  No  doubt  the  words  are  quoted 
from  the  second  Psalm.  This,  however,  only  removes  the 
difficulty  a  step  further  back.  Why  either  there  or  here 
should  the  shepherd  work  of  the  Messiah  be  connected 
with  an  iron  sceptre  rather  than  a  peaceful  crook  ? 
The  explanation  is  not  difficult.  Both  the  Psalm  and 
the  Apocalypse  are  occupied  mainly  with  the  victory  of 
Christ  over  His  adversaries.  His  friends  have  already 
been  secured  in  the  possession  of  a  complete  salva- 
tion. It  remains  only  that  His  foes  shall  be  finally  put 
down.  Hence  the  "  sceptre  of  iron."  Strange  also,  it 
may  be  thought,  that  in  this  ideal  picture  we  should 
find  no  *'  pattern  "  of  the  life  of  our  Lord  on  earth,  of 
His  labours,  or  sufferings,  or  death  ;  and  that  we  should 
only  be  invited  to  behold  Him  in  His  incarnation  and 
ascension  into  heaven !  But  again  the  explanation 
is  not  difficult.  Over  against  Satan  stands,  not  a 
humbled  merely,  but  a  risen  and  glorified,  Redeemer. 
The  process  by  which  He  conquered  it  is  unnecessary  to 
dwell  upon.     Enough  that  we  know  the  fact. 

The  woman's  child  being  thus  safe,  the  woman  herself 
fled  into  the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place  prepared 
of  God,  and  where  she  shall  be  nourished  by  heavenly 
sustenance.  Thus  Israel  wandered  forty  years,  fed 
with  the  manna  that  fell  from  heaven  and  the  water 
that  flowed  from  the  smitten  rock.^  Thus  Elijah  fled 
'  John  xvi.  21.  2  J  Qqj.^  X.  3,  4. 


204  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

to  the  brook  Cherith,  and  afterwards  to  the  wilderness, 
where  his  wants  were  supplied  in  the  one  case  by  the 
ravens,  in  the  other  by  an  angel.'^  And  thus  was  our 
Lord  upheld  for  forty  days  by  the  words  that  proceeded 
out  of  the  mouth  of  God.^  This  wilderness  life  of  the 
Church,  too,  continues  during  the  whole  Christian 
era,  during  the  whole  period  of  witnessing.^  Always 
in  the  wilderness  so  long  as  her  Lord  is  personally 
absent,  she  eats  heavenly  food  and  drinks  living 
water. 

Such  is  the  first  scene  of  this  chapter  ;  and,  glancing 
once  more  over  it,  it  would  seem  as  if  its  chief  purpose 
were  to  present  to  us  the  two  great  opposing  forces  of 
light  and  darkness,  of  the  Son  and  the  dragon,  con- 
sidered in  themselves. 

The  second  scene  follows  : — 

And  there  was  war  in  heaven,  Michael  and  his  angels  going 
forth  to  war  with  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon  warred  and  his  angels : 
and  they  prevailed  not,  neither  was  their  place  found  any  more  in 
heaven.  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  down,  the  old  serpent,  he 
that  is  called  the  devil,  and  Satan,  the  deceiver  of  the  whole  inhabited 
earth  :  he  was  cast  down  into  the  earth,  and  his  angels  were  cast 
down  with  him.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  in  heaven,  saying,  Now 
is  come  the  salvation,  and  the  power,  and  the  kingdom  of  our  God, 
and  the  authority  of  His  Christ:  for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is 
cast  down,  which  accuseth  them  before  our  God  day  and  night.  And 
they  overcame  him  because  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  because  of 
the  word  of  their  testimony ;  and  they  loved  not  their  life  even  unto 
death.  Therefore  rejoice,  O  heavens,  and  ye  that  tabernacle  in  them. 
Woe  for  the  earth  and  for  the  sea !  because  the  devil  is  gone  down 
unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  knowing  that  he  hath  but  a  short 
season  (xii.  7-12). 

If  our  conception  of  the  first  six  verses  of  the 
chapter  be  correct,  it  will  be  evident  that  the  idea  often 
entertained,  that  the  verses  following  them  form  a  break 


I  Kings  xvii.  6 ;  xix.  5.         *  Matt.  iv.  4,         ^  Chap.  xi.  3. 


xii.7-i2.]  THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY.  205 

in  the  narrative  which  is  only  resumed  at  ver.  13,  is 
wrong.  There  is  no  break.  The  progress  of  the 
thought  is  continuous.  The  combatants  have  been  set 
before  us,  and  we  have  now  the  contest  in  which 
they  are  engaged.  This  consideration  also  helps  us 
to  understand  the  personality  of  Michael  and  the 
particular  conflict  in  the  Seer's  view. 

For,  as  to  the  first  of  these  two  points,  it  is  even 
in  itself  probable  that  the  Leader  of  the  hosts  of  light 
will  be  no  other  than  the  Captain  of  our  salvation, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself  The  dragon  leads  the 
hosts  of  darkness.  The  Son  has  been  described  as 
the  opponent  against  whom  the  enmity  of  the  dragon 
is  especially  directed.  When  the  war  begins,  we  have 
every  reason  to  expect  that  as  the  one  leader  takes 
the  command,  so  also  will  the  other.  There  is  much 
to  confirm  this  conclusion.  The  name  Michael  leads 
to  it,  for  that  word  signifies,  "  Who  is  like  God  ?  "  and 
such  a  name  is  at  least  more  appropriate  to  a  Divine 
than  to  a  created  being.  In  the  New  Testament,  too, 
we  read  of  *'  Michael  the  archangel  "  ^ — there  seems  to 
be  only  one,  for  we  never  read  of  archangels^ — and 
an  archangel  is  again  spoken  of  in  circumstances  that 
can  hardly  be  associated  with  the  thought  of  any  one 
but  God :  **  The  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God."^  Above  all,  the  prophecies 
of  Daniel,  in  which  the  name  Michael  first  occurs,  may 
be  said  to  decide  the  point.  A  person  named  Michael 
there  appears  on  different  occasions  as  the  defender 
of  the  Church  against  her  enemies,*  and  once  at 
least  in    a    connexion   leading  directly  to  the  thought 

»  Jude  9.  3  J  Xhess.  iv.  16. 

'  Brown,  The  Book  oj  Revelaiion^  p.  69.         ■*  Dan.  x.  13,  21. 


2o6  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

of  our  Lord  Himself:  "And  at  that  time  shall  Michael 
stand  up,  the  great  prince  which  standeth  for  the 
children  of  Thy  people :  and  there  shall  be  a  time  of 
trouble,  such  as  never  was  since  there  was  a  nation 
even  to  that  same  time :  and  at  that  time  Thy  people 
shall  be  delivered,  every  one  that  shall  be  found  written 
in  the  book.  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust 
of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and 
some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt.  And  they 
that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever."  *  These  considerations 
justify  the  conclusion  that  the  Michael  now  spoken  of 
is  the  representative  of  Christ ;  and  we  have  already 
seen,  in  examining  the  vision  of  the  "  strong  angel  "  in 
chap.  X.,  that  such  a  mode  of  speaking  is  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  general  method  of  St.  John. 

Light  is  thus  thrown  also  upon  the  second  point 
above  mentioned :  the  particular  conflict  referred  to  in 
these  verses.  The  statement  that  there  was  ivar  in 
heaven^  and  that  when  the  dragon  was  defeated  he  was 
cast  down  into  the  earth,  might  lead  us  to  think  of  an 
earlier  conflict  between  good  and  evil  than  any  in 
which  man  has  part :  of  that  mentioned  by  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Jude,  when  the  former  consoles  the  righteous 
by  the  thought  that  "  God  spared  not  angels  when  they 
sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to  hell,  and  committed 
them  to  pits  of  darkness,  to  be  reserved  unto  judg- 
ment," ^  and  when  the  latter  warns  sinners  to  remember 
that  "  angels  w-hich  kept  not  their  own  principality, 
but  left  their  proper  habitation,  He  hath  kept  in  ever- 
lasting bonds  under  darkness  unto  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day."^     The  circumstances,  however,  of  the  war, 

'  Dan.  xii.  1-3.  ^  2  Pet.  ii.  4.  ^  Jude  6. 


xii.7-i2.]  III2  FIRST  GREA7   ENEMY.  207 

lead  rather  to  the  thought  of  a  conflict  in  which  the 
Son,  incarnate  and  glorified,  takes  His  part.  For 
this  "  Son  "  is  the  opponent  of  the  dragon  introduced 
to  us  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  chapter.  *'  Heaven  " 
is  not  so  much  a  premundane  or  supramundane  locality 
as  the  spiritual  sphere  within  which  believers  dwell 
even  during  their  earthly  pilgrimage,  when  that 
pilgrimage  is  viewed  upon  its  higher  side.  And  the 
means  by  which  the  victory  is  gained — for  the  victors 
overcame  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their 
testimony — distinctly  indicate  that  the  struggle  referred 
to  took  place  after  the  work  of  redemption  had  been 
completed,   not  before  it  was  begun. 

Several  other  passages  of  the  New  Testament  are 
in  harmony  with  this  supposition.  Thus  it  w^as  that 
when  the  sevent}^  returned  to  our  Lord  with  joy  after 
their  mission,  saying,  "  Lord,  even  the  demons  are 
subject  unto  us  in  Thy  name/'  He,  beholding  in  this 
the  pledge  of  His  completed  victory,  exclaimed,  "I 
beheld  Satan  fallen  as  lightning  from  heaven."  ^  Thus 
it  was  that  when  charged  with  casting  out  demons  by 
Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  the  demons,  our  Lord  pointed 
out  to  His  accusers  that  His  actions  proved  Him  to  be 
the  Conqueror,  and  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  come 
unto  them:  "When  the  strong  man  fully  armed 
guardeth  his  own  court,  his  goods  are  in  peace  :  but 
when  a  stronger  than  he  shall  come  upon  him,  and 
overcome  him,  he  taketh  from  him  his  whole  armour 
wherein  he  trusted,  and  divideth  his  spoils."  ^  To  the 
same  effect  are  all  those  passages  where  our  Lord  or 
His  Apostles  speak,  not  of  a  partial,  but  of  a  complete, 
victory  over  Satan,  so  that  for  His  people  the  great 

'  Luke  X.  17,  18.  *  Luke  xi.  21,  22. 


2o8  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

enemy  of  man  is  already  judged,  and  overthrown,  and 
bruised  beneath  their  feet :  '*  Now  is  a  judgment  of  this 
world  :  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out ;  " 
"  And  when  He  "  (the  Advocate)  "is  come,  He  will  con- 
vince the  world  of  judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this 
world  hath  been  judged  ; "  "  Since  then  the  children  are 
sharers  in  flesh  and  blood.  He  also  Himself  in  like 
manner  partook  of  the  same;  that  through  death  He  might 
bring  to  nought  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that 
is,  the  devil ;  and  might  deliver  all  them  who  through 
fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage  ;  " 
''  Whatsoever  is  begotten  of  God  overcometh  the 
world  :  and  this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the 
world,  even  our  faith;"  '*We  know  that  whosoever  is 
begotten  of  God  sinneth  not ;  but  He  that  was  begotten 
of  God  keepeth  him,  and  the  evil  one  toucheth  him 
not."i 

In  passages  such  as  these  we  have  the  same  thought 
as  that  before  us  in  this  vision.  Satan  has  been  cast 
out  of  heaven  ;  that  is,  in  his  warfare  against  the  children 
of  God  he  has  been  completely  overthrown.  Over  their 
higher  life,  their  life  in  a  risen  and  glorified  Redeemer, 
he  has  no  power.  They  are  for  ever  escaped  from 
his  bondage,  and  are  free.  But  he  has  been  cast  down 
into  the  earth,  and  his  angels  with  him;  that  is,  over  the 
men  of  the  world  he  still  exerts  his  power,  and  they  are 
led  captive  by  him  at  his  will.  Hence,  accordingly, 
the  words  of  the  great  voice  heard  in  heaven  which 
occupy  all  the  latter  part  of  the  vision,  words  which 
distinctly  bring  out  the  difference  between  the  two 
aspects  of  Satan  now  adverted  to, — (i)  his  impotence 
as  regards  the  disciples  of  Jesus  who  are  faithful  unto 

*  John  xii.  31 ;  xvi.  II ;  Hcb.  ii.  14,  15  ;  I  John  v.  4,  18. 


xii.  7-I2.J  THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY.  209 

death  :  Rejoice^  O  heavens,  and  ye  that  dwell  in  them  ; 
(2)  his  mastery  over  the  ungodly:  Woe  for  the  earth 
and  for  the  sea  I  for  the  devil  is  gone  down  unto  you  in 
great  wrath,  knoiving  that  he  hath  but  a  short  season. 
Although,  therefore,  the  fall  of  the  angels  from  their 
first  estate  may  be  remotely  hiated  at,  the  vision  refers 
to  the  spiritual  contest  begun  after  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus ;  and  we  ask  our  readers  only  to  pay  particular 
regard  to  the  double  relation  of  Satan  to  mankind  which 
is  referred  to  in  it  :  his  subjection  to  the  righteous 
and  the  subjection  of  the  wicked  to  him.  One 
phrase  only  may  seem  inconsistent  with  this  view.  In 
ver.  9  Satan  is  described  as  the  deceiver  of  the  whole 
inhabited  earth,  for  that,  and  not  "  the  whole  world," 
is  the  true  rendering  of  the  original.^  ^'  The  whole  in- 
habited earth "  cannot  be  the  same  as  "  the  earth." 
The  latter  is  simply  the  wicked ;  the  former  includes 
all  men.  But  the  words  describe  a  characteristic  of 
Satan  in  himself,  and  not  what  he  actually  effects.  He 
is  the  deceiver  of  the  whole  inhabited  earth.  He  lays 
his  snares  for  all.  He  tempted  Jesus  Himself  in 
the  wilderness,  and  many  a  time  thereafter  during 
His  labours  and  His  sufferings.  The  vision  gives  no 
ground  for  the  supposition  that  God's  children  are  not 
attacked  by  him.  It  assures  us  only  that  when  the 
attack  is  made  it  is  at  the  same  instant  foiled.  There 
is  a  battle,  but  Christians  advance  to  it  as  conquerors ; 
before  it  begins  victory  is  theirs.^ 

One  other  expression  of  these  verses  may  be  noted  : 
the  sliort  season  spoken  of  in  ver.  12.  This  period 
of  time  is  not  to  be  looked  at  as  if  it  were  a  brief 
special  season  at  the  close  of  the  Christian  age,  when 

*  Comp.  R.V.  (margin).  ^  Comp.  i  John  v.  4. 

14 


2IO  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  wrath  of  Satan  is  aroused  to  a  greater  than 
ordhiary  degree  because  the  last  hour  is  about  to 
strike.  The  g}'eat  wrath  with  which  he  goes  forth 
is  that  stirred  in  him  by  his  defeat  through  the  death, 
resurrection,  and  ascension  of  our  Lord.  It  was 
roused  in  him  when  he  was  "  cast  into  the  earth," 
and  from  that  moment  of  defeat  therefore  the  "  short 
season  "  begins. 

The  third  paragraph  of  the  chapter  follows  : — 

And  when  the  dragon  saw  that  he  was  cast  down  into  the  earth, 
he  persecuted  the  woman  which  brought  forth  the  man-child.  And 
there  were  given  to  the  woman  the  two  wings  of  the  great  eagle,  that 
she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness,  unto  her  place,  where  she  is 
nourished  for  a  time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time,  from  the  face  of  the 
serpent.  And  the  serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth  after  the  woman 
water  as  a  river,  that  he  might  cause  her  to  be  carried  away  by  the 
stream.  And  the  earth  helped  the  woman,  and  the  earth  opened  her 
mouth,  and  swallowed  up  the  river  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his 
mouth.  And  the  dragon  waxed  wroth  with  the  woman,  and  went 
away  to  make  war  with  the  rest  of  her  seed,  which  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God,  and  hold  the  testimony  of  Jesus;  and  he  stood  upon 
the  sand  of  the  sea  (xii.  13-xiii.  \d). 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  woman  introduced 
to  us  in  the  first  paragraph  of  this  chapter  is  the 
embodiment  and  the  bearer  of  light.  She  is  there 
indeed  set  before  us  in  her  ideal  aspect,  in  what  she 
is  in  herself,  rather  than  in  her  historical  position. 
Now  we  meet  her  in  actual  history,  or,  in  other  words, 
she  is  the  historical  Church  of  God  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment phase  of  her  development.  As  such  she  has  a 
mission  to  the  world.  She  is  "  the  sent  "  of  Christ, 
as  Christ  was  "  the  sent  "  of  the  Father.^  In  witnessing 
for  Christ,  she  has ^  to  reveal  to  the  children  of  men 
what  Divine  love  is.     But  she  has  to  do  this  in  the 

^  John  XX.  21. 


xii.  13-xiii.  i«.]     THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY.  21 1 

midst  of  trouble.  This  world  is  not  her  rest ;  and  she 
must  bear  the  Saviour's  cross  if  she  would  afterwards 
wear  His  crown. 

Persecuted,  however,  she  is  not  forsaken.     She  had 
given  her  the  two  wings  of  the  great  eagle,  that  she  might 
fly  into  the  wilderness,  unto  her  place — the  place  prepared 
of  God  for  her  protection.     There  can  be  little  doubt 
as  to  the  allusion.     The  "great  eagle  "  is  that  of  which 
God    Himself  spoke    to    Moses    in   the    mount  :    "  Ye 
have  seen  what   I  did   unto   the  Egyptians,  and  how 
I   bare  you   on   eagles'  wings,    and  brought  you  unto 
Myself;"^  and   that   alluded  to  by  Moses   in  the   last 
song    taught    by    him    to    the   people  :   ''  As    an    eagle 
stirreth    up    her    nest,    fluttereth     over    her    young, 
spreadeth  abroad  her  wings,  taketh  them,  beareth  them 
on   her  wings  :   so  the  Lord  alone  did  lead  him,  and 
there  was  no  strange  god  with  him."  ^     The  same  eagle 
was  probably  in  view  of  David  when  he  sang,  *^  How 
excellent  is  Thy  lovingkindness,  O  God  !  therefore  the 
children  of  men  put  their  trust  under  the  shadow  of 
Ihy  wings  ;"^    \\hile  it  was  also   that   on   the  wings 
of  which  the  members  of  the  Church  draw  continually 
nearer  God  :  "  They  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles."  * 
To  the  woman  then  there  w^as  given  a  ''refuge  from 
the  storm,"  a  ''  covert  from  the  heat,"  of  trial,  that  she 
might  abide   in  it,  nourished   with   her  heavenly   food, 
for  a  time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time.     Of  this  period 
we  have  already  spoken.     It  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the   three  and    a  half  years,  the  "forty-two  months," 
the    "  thousand    two    hundred    and    threescore  days." 
It   is  thus  the  whole  period  of  the   Church's   militant 

•  Exod.  xix.  3,  4.  •''  Ps.  xxxvi.  7, 

'  Deut.  xxxii.  11,  12.  *  Isa.  xl.  31. 


212  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

history  upon  earth.  During  all  of  it  she  is  persecuted 
by  Satan  ;  during  all  of  it  she  is  preserved  and  nourished 
by  the  care  of  God.  At  first  sight  indeed  it  may  seem 
as  if  this  shelter  in  the  wilderness  were  incompatible 
with  the  task  of  witnessing  assigned  to  her.  But 
it  is  one  of  the  paradoxes  of  the  position  of  the  children 
of  God  in  this  present  world  that  while  they  are 
above  it  they  are  yet  in  it ;  that  while  they  are  seated 
"in  the  heavenly  places"  they  are  exposed  to  the 
storms  of  earth  ;  that  while  their  life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God  they  witness  and  war  before  the  eyes  of  men. 
The  persecution  and  the  nourishment,  the  suffering  and 
the  glory,  run  parallel  with  each  other.  One  other 
remark  may  be  made.  There  is  obviously  an  emphasis 
upon  the  word  "two"  prefixed  to  "wings."  Though 
founded  upon  the  fact  that  the  wings  of  the  bird  are 
two  in  number,  a  deeper  meaning  would  seem  to  be 
intended;  and  that  meaning  is  suggested  by  the  fact 
that  the  witnesses  of  chap.  xi.  were  also  two.  The 
protection  extended  corresponds  exactly  to  the  need 
for  it.  The  "grace"  of  God  is  in  all  circumstances 
"  sufficient "  for  His  people.-^  No  temptation  can  assail 
them  which  He  will  not  enable  them  to  endure,  or  out 
of  which  He  will  not  provide  for  them  a  way  of  escape.^ 
Therefore  may  they  always  take  up  the  language  of  the 
Apostle  and  say,  "  Most  gladly  will  I  rather  glory 
in  my  weaknesses,  that  the  strength  of  Christ  may 
spread  a  tabernacle  over  me.  Wherefore  I  take 
pleasure  in  weaknesses,  in  injuries,  in  necessities,  in 
persecutions,  in  distresses  for  Christ's  sake  :  for  when 
I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong."  ^ 

The  woman  fled   into   the  wilderness,   but  she  was 

1  2  Cor.  xii.  9,  2   I  Cor.  x.  13.  ^  2  Ccr.  xli.  9,  10. 


xii.  1 3-xiii.  I  a.  ]     THE  FIRST  GREA  T  ENEMY.  2 1 3 

not  permitted  to  flee  thither  without  a  final  effort  of 
Satan  to  overwhelm  her ;  and  in  the  manner  in  which 
this  effort  is  made  we  again  recognise  the  language 
of  the  Old  Testament.  There  the  assaults  of  the 
ungodly  upon  Israel  are  frequently  compared  to  those 
floods  of  waters  which,  owing  to  the  sudden  risings  of 
the  streams,  are  in  the  East  so  common  and  so  disas- 
trous. Isaiah  describes  the  enemy  as  coming  in  "  like 
a  flood."  ^  Of  the  floods  of  the  Euphrates  and  the 
destruction  which  they  symbolized  we  have  already 
spoken^;  and  in  hours  of  deliverance  from  trouble 
the  Church  has  found  the  song  of  triumph  most  suit- 
able to  her  condition  in  the  words  of.  the  Psalmist, 
^'If  it  had  not  been  the  Lord  who  w^as  on  our  side, 
when  men  rose  up  against  us  :  then  they  had  swallowed 
us  up  quick,  when  their  wrath  was  kindled  against  us  : 
then  the  waters  had  overwhelmed  us,  the  stream  had 
gone  over  our  soul :  then  the  proud  waters  had  gone 
over  our  soul.  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  not 
given  us  as  a  prey  to  their  teeth."  ^  The  main  refer- 
ence is,  however,  in  all  probability  to  the  passage  of 
Israel  across  the  Red  Sea,  for  then,  says  David,  calling 
to  mind  that  great  deliverance  in  the  history  of  his 
people,  and  finding  in  it  the  type  of  deUverances  so 
often  experienced  by  himself,  "  the  sorrows  of  death 
compassed  me,  and  the  floods  of  ungodly  men  made 
me  afraid.  ...  In  my  distress  I  called  upon  the  Lord, 
and  cried  unto  my  God.  ...  He  sent  from  above,  He 
took  me.  He  drew  me  out  of  many  waters."  "^ 

The  most  remarkable  point  to  be  noticed  here  is, 
however,  not  the  deliverance  itself,  but  the  method  by 
which  it  is  accomplished.     To  understand  this,  as  well 

*  Isa.  lix.  19.  "  Ps.  cxxiv.  2-6. 

*  Comp.  p.  150.  *  Ps.  xviii.  4-16. 


214  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

as  the  wrath  of  Satan  immediately  afterwards  described, 
it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  twofold  element  in 
the  Church  the  existence  of  which  is  the  key  to  so 
many  of  the  most  intricate  problems  of  the  Apocalypse. 
The  Church  embraces  both  true  and  false  members 
within  her  pale.  She  is  the  ''  vine  "  of  our  Lord's  last 
discourse  to  His  disciples,  some  of  the  branches  of 
v/hich  bear  much  fruit,  while  others  are  only  fit  to  be 
cast  into  the  fire  and  burned.-^  The  thought  of  these 
latter  members  is  in  the  mind  of  St.  John  when  he  tells 
us,  in  a  manner  so  totally  unexpected,  that  the  earth 
helped  the  woman,  and  the  earth  opened  her  mouth,  and 
swallowed  up  the  river  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his 
mouth.  He  is  thinking  of  the  nominal  members  of  the 
Church,  of  the  merely  nominal  Christianity  which  she 
has  so  often  exhibited  to  the  world.  That  Christianity 
the  world  loves.  When  the  Church's  tone  and  life  are 
lowered  by  her  yielding  to  the  influence  of  the  things 
of  time,  then  the  world,  "  the  earth,"  is  ready  to  hasten 
to  her  side.  It  offers  her  its  friendship,  courts  alliance 
with  her,  praises  her  for  the  good  order  which  she 
introduces,  by  arguments  drawn  from  eternity,  into  the 
things  of  time,  and  swallows  up  the  river  which  the 
dragon  casts  out  of  his  mouth  against  her.  When 
Christ's  disciples  are  of  the  world,  the  w^orld  loves  its 
own.^  They  are  helping  "  the  earth  "  to  do  its  work. 
Why  should  the  earth  not  recognise  and  welcome  the 
assistance  given  it  by  foolish  foes  as  well  as  friends  ? 
Therefore  it  helps  the  woman. 

But  side  by  side  with  this  aspect  of  the  Church 
which  met  the  approbation  of  "  the  earth,"  the  dragon 
saw  that  she  had  another  aspect  of  determined  hostility 


John  XV.  5,  6.  *  John  xv.  19. 


xii.  13-xiii.  la.]     THE  FIRST  GREAT  ENEMY.  215 

to  his  claims ;  and  he  waxed  wroth  with  her.  She  had 
within  her  not  only  degenerate  but  true  members,  not 
only  worldly  professors,  but  those  who  were  one  with  her 
Divine  and  glorified  Lord.  These  were  the  rest  of  her 
seedy  which  keep  the  commandments  of  God  and  the  testi- 
mony of  fesits.  They  were  the  "few  names  in  Sardis 
which  did  not  defile  their  garments,"  ^  '*  the  remnant 
according  to  the  election  of  grace,"  ^  "  the  seed  which 
the  Lord  hath  blessed."^  Such  disciples  of  Jesus  the 
dragon  could  not  tolerate,  and  he  went  away  to  make 
war  with  them.  Thus  is  the  painful  distinction  still 
kept  up  which  marks  all  the  later  part  of  the  Apocalypse. 
The  spectacle  was  one  over  which  St.  John  had  mourned 
as  he  beheld  it  in  the  Church  of  his  own  day  :  "  They 
went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of  us ;  for  if  they 
had  been  of  us,  they  would  have  continued  with  us  : 
but  they  went  out,  that  they  might  be  made  manifest 
that  not  all  are  of  us.  Little  children,  it  is  the  last 
hour."*  It  was  a  spectacle  which  he  knew  would  be 
repeated  so  long  as  the  Church  of  Christ  was  in  contact 
with  the  world  ;  and  he  notes  it  now. 

One  other  point  ought  to  be  noticed  in  connexion 
with  these  verses.  The  helping  of  the  woman  by  the 
earth  seems  to  be  the  Scripture  parallel  to  the  difficult 
words  of  St.  Paul  when  he  says  in  writing  to  the 
Thessalonians,  "  And  now  ye  know  that  which  re- 
straineth  to  the  end  that  he  may  be  revealed  in  his 
own  season.  For  the  mystery  of  lawlessness  doth 
already  work  :  only  there  is  one  that  restraineth  now^ 
until  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way."  ^  This  "  restraining  " 
power,  generally,  and  in  all  probability  correctly,  under- 

*  Chap,  iii,  4.  ^  Isa.  Ixi.  9. 

*  Rem,  xi.  5.  *  I  John  ii.  18,  19. 

^  2  Thess.  ii.  6,  7. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


Stood  of  the  Roman  State,  is  *'  the  earth  "  of  St.-  John 
helping  the  woman  because  it  is  helped  by  her. 

We  have  been  introduced  to  the  first  great  enemy  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.  It  remains  only  that  he  shall  take 
up  his  position  on  the  field.  The  next  clause  therefore 
which  meets  us,  and  which  ought  to  be  read,  not  as  the 
first  clause  of  chap,  xiii.,  but  as  the  last  of  chap,  xii., 
and  in  which  the  third  person  ought  to  be  substituted 
for  the  first,  describes  him  as  doing  so :  And  he  stood 
upon  the  sand' of  the  sea,  upon  the  shore  between  the 
earth  and  the  sea,  where  he  could  so  command  them 
both  as  to  justify  the  "  Woe  "  already  uttered  over  both 
in  the  twelfth  verse  of  the  chapter.  There  we  leave 
him  for  a  time,  only  remarking  that  we  are  not  to 
think  of  ocean  lying  before  us  in  a  calm,  but  of  the  rest- 
less and  troubled  sea,  raised  into  huge  waves  by  the 
storm-winds  contending  upon  it  for  the  mastery  and 
dashing  its  waves  upon  the  beach. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SECOND  AND   THIRD  GREAT  ENEMIES  OF  THE 
CHURCH. 

Rev.  xiii, 

WE  have  seen  that  the  main  purpose  of  chap.  xii. 
was  to  introduce  to  our  notice  the  dragon,  or 
Satan,  the  first  great  enemy  of  the  Church.  Tlie  object 
of  chap.  xiii.  is  to  make  us  acquainted  with  her  second 
and  third  great  enemies,  and  thus  to  enable  us  to  form 
a  distinct  conception  of  the  powerful  foes  with  which 
the  followers  of  Christ  have  to  contend.  The  two 
enemies  referred  to  are  respectively  styled  "  a  beast " 
(ver.  i)  and  "another  beast"  (ver.  ii),  or,  as  they  are 
generally  termed,  the  first  beast  and  the  second  beast. 
To  the  word  ''  beast"  must  be  assigned  in  both  cases  its 
fullest  and  most  pregnant  sense.  The  two  "  beasts  " 
are  not  only  beasts,  but  wild  beasts,  strong,  fierce, 
rapacious,  and  cruel,  even  the  apparent  softness  and 
tenderness  of  the  second  being  associated  with  those 
dragon  words  which  can  proceed  only  from  a  dragon 
heart.-^ 

The  first  is  thus  described  : — 

And  I  saw  a  beast  coming  up  out  of  the  sea,  having  ten  horns  and 
seven  heads,  and  on  his  horns  ten  diidems,  and  upon  his  heads 
names  of  blasphemy.     And  the  beast  which  I  saw  was  like  unto  a 


Ver.  i: 


21 8  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

leopard,  and  his  feet  were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  and  his  mouth  as 
the  mouth  of  a  lion  :  and  the  dragon  gave  him  his  power,  and  his 
throne,  and  great  authority.  And  I  saw  one  of  his  heads  as  though 
it  had  been  slaughtered  unto  death ;  and  the  stroke  of  his  death  was 
healed  :  and  the  whole  earth  marvelled  after  the  beast.  And  they 
worshipped  the  dragon  because  he  gave  his  authority  unto  the  benst : 
and  they  v^'orshippcd  the  beast,  saying,  Who  is  like  unto  the  beast, 
and  who  is  able  to  war  with  him  ?  And  there  was  given  to  him  a 
mouth  speaking  great  things  and  blasphemies  ;  and  there  was  given 
to  him  authority  to  continue  forty  and  two  months.  And  he  opened 
his  mouth  for  blasphemies  against  God,  to  blaspheme  His  name,  and 
His  tabernacle,  even  them  that  tabernacle  in  the  heaven.  And  it 
was  given  unto  him  to  make  war  with  the  saints,  and  to  overcome 
them  :  and  there  was  given  to  him  authority  over  every  tribe,  and 
people,  and  tongue,  and  nation.  And  all  that  dwell  on  the  earth 
shall  worship  him,  every  one  whose  name  hath  not  been  written  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world  in  the  book  of  life  of  the  Lamb  that  hath 
been  slaughtered.  If  any  one  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear.  If  any  one 
leadeth  into  captivity,  into  captivity  he  goeth  :  if  any  one  shall  kill 
with  the  sword,  with  the  sword  must  he  be  killed.  Here  is  the 
patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints  (xiii.  \b-\0). 

The  description  carries  us  back  to  the  prophecies 
of  Daniel,  and  the  language  of  the  prophet  helps  us  to 
understand  that  of  the  Seer.  It  is  thus  that  the 
former  speaks :  "  Daniel  spake  and  said,  I  saw  in 
my  vision  by  night,  and,  behold,  the  four  winds  of 
the  heaven  brake  forth  upon  the  great  sea.  And  four 
great  beasts  came  up  from  the  sea,  diverse  one  from 
another.  The  first  was  like  a  lion,  and  had  eagle's 
wings  :  I  belield  till  the  wings  thereof  were  plucked, 
and  it  was  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  and  made  to  stand 
upon  two  feet  as  a  man,  and  a  man's  heart  was  given 
to  it.  And  behold  another  beast,  a  second,  like  to 
a  bear,  and  it  was  raised  up  on  one  side,  and  three 
ribs  were  in  his  mouth  between  his  teeth  :  and  they 
said  thus  unto  it,  Arise,  devour  much  flesh.  After 
this  I  beheld,  and  lo  another,  like  a  leopard,  which 
had  upon   the  back    of  it    four  wings  of   a  fowl;   the 


xiii.  i^-io.]     SECOND  AND   THIRD  ENEMIES.  219 

beast  had  also  four  heads  ;  and  dominion  was  given 
to  it.  After  this  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and 
behold  a  fourth  beast,  terrible  and  powerful,  and 
strong  exceedingly ;  and  it  had  great  iron  teeth  :  it 
devoured  and  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the  residue 
with  his  feet :  and  it  was  diverse  from  all  the  beasts 
that  were  before  it ;  and  it  had  ten  horns.  I  con- 
sidered the  horns,  and,  behold,  there  came  up  among 
them  another  horn,  a  little  one,  before  which  three 
of  the  first  horns  were  plucked  up  by  the  roots  :  and, 
behold,  in  this  horn  were  eyes  like  the  e3^es  of  a  man, 
and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things."  ^  These  particulars 
embody  the  prophet's  picture  of  the  world-power  in 
four  successive  phases  of  its  manifestation,  until  it 
culminates  in  the  "  little  horn  ;  "  and  it  is  not  possible 
to  doubt  that  the  Seer,  while  modifying  them  with 
characteristic  freedom,  finds  in  them  the  foundation 
of  his  figure. 

In  both  cases  there  is  the  same  origin, — the  sea  swept 
by  strong  winds  from  every  point  of  the  compass,  until 
the  opposing  forces  rush  upon  one  another,  mingle  in 
wild  confusion,  send  up  their  spray  into  the  air,  and 
then,  dark  with  the  reflection  of  the  clouds  above  and 
turbid  with  sand,  exhaust  themselves  with  one  long, 
sullen  roar  upon  the  beach.  In  both  cases  the 
same  animals  are  referred  to,  though  in  the  vision 
of  Daniel  they  are  separated,  in  that  of  St.  John 
combined  :  the  leopard,  with  his  sudden,  cruel  spring ; 
the  bear,  with  his  slow,  relentless  brutishness ;  and  the 
lion,  with  his  all-conquering  power.  Finally,  in  the 
case  of  both  mention  is  made  also  of  "  ten  horns," 
which  are  distinct  from  the  lineal    succession    of  the 

»  Dan.  vii.  28. 


220  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

heads.  So  far,  therefore,  we  can  have  little  hesitation 
in  affirming  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  most  commen- 
tators that  in  this  beast  coming  up  out  of  the  sea  we  have 
an  emblem  of  that  power  of  the  world  which,  under 
the  guidance  of  *'  the  prince  of  the  world,"  opposes 
and  persecutes  the  Church  of  Christ.  Several  particu- 
lars regarding  it,  however,  still  demand  our  notice. 

1.  The  horns  are  not  to  be  thought  of  as  distributed 
among  the  heads,  but  rather  as  a  group  by  themselves, 
constituting  along  with  the  seventh  head  a  manifesta- 
tion of  the  beast  distinct  from  that  expressed  by  each 
of  the  separate  heads.  In  a  certain  sense  the  seventh 
head,  with  its  ten  horns,  is  thus  one  of  the  seven,  for 
in  them  the  beast  expresses  himself.  In  another 
sense  it  is  like  the  '^  fourth  beast "  of  the  prophet 
Daniel :  "  diverse  from  all  the  beasts  that  were  before 
it "  and  even  more  terrible  than  they. 

2.  The  seven  heads  seem  most  fittingly  to  represent 
seven  powers  of  the  world  by  which  the  children  of 
God  had  been  persecuted  in  the  past  or  were  to  be 
persecuted  in  the  future.  The  supposition  has  indeed 
been  often  made  that  they  represent  seven  forms  of 
Roman  government  or  seven  emperors  who  suc- 
cessively occupied  the  imperial  throne.  But  neither 
of  these  sevens  can  be  definitely  fixed  by  the  advocates 
of  the  general  thought ;  while  the  whole  strain  of  the 
passage  suggests  that  the  beast  which,  in  the  form  now 
dealt  with,  unquestionably  represents  a  world-power 
conterminous  with  the  whole  earth,  grows  up  into  this 
form  only  in  his  seventh  head  and  ten  horns  manifesta- 
tion. The  other  heads  are  rather  preparatory  to  the 
last  than  to  be  ranked  equally  along  with  it.  Making  a 
natural  beginning,  therefore,  with  the  oldest  persecuting 
power  mentioned  in   that  Bible   history  of  which  the 


xiii.  ib-JO.]     SECOND  AND   THIRD  ENEMIES.  221 

Apocalyptist  makes  such  extensive  use,  and  following 
the  line  down  to  the  Seer's  time,  the  seven  heads  appear 
to  represent  the  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  Babylonian,  Medo- 
Persian,  Greek,  and  Roman  powers,  together  with 
that  power,  wider  even  than  the  Roman,  which  St. 
John  saw  was  about  to  rage  in  the  hurried  days  of 
"the  last  time"  against  the  simplicity,  purity,  holiness, 
and  unworldliness  of  Christ's  little  flock.  Each  of 
these  powers  is  a  "  head."  The  last  is  the  concentrated 
essence,  the  most  universal,  the  most  penetrating, 
influence  of  them  all.  Taken  together,  they  supply, 
as  no  other  interpretation  does,  what  is  absolutely 
essential  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  figure, — 
the  idea  of  completeness. 

3.  By  such  a  rendering  also  we  gain  a  natural 
interpretation  of  the  head  beheld  as  though  it  had  been 
slaughtered  unto  death  ;  and  the  stroke  of  his  death  was 
healed.  Other  renderings  fail  to  aftbrd  this,  for  no 
successive  forms  of  government  at  Rome  and  no 
successive  emperors  furnish  a  member  of  their  series 
of  which  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  first  slain  and  then 
brought  back  to  a  life  of  greater  energy  and  more 
quickened  action.  Yet  without  the  thought  of  death  and 
resurrection  it  is  impossible  to  fulfil  the  conditions  of  the 
problem.  The  head  spoken  of  in  ver.  3  had  not  been 
merely  wounded ov  smitten :  it  had  been  ^^ slaughtered  unio 
death  ; "  and  it  was  not  merely  his  "  deadly  wound,"^ 
or  even  "  his  death-stroke  :  "  ^  it  was  the  "  stroke  of  his 
death  "  that  had  been  healed.  There  had  been  actual 
death  and  resurrection  from  death,  the  contrast  and 
travesty  of  that  death  and  resurrection  which  had 
befallen  the  Lamb*  slaughtered  and  raised  again.^     Such 

»  Chap.  xiii.  3,  A.V.         *  Chap.  xiii.  3,  R.V.         «  Chap.  v.  6. 


222  THE  BOOK  OF  KEVELATIOM. 

a  death  and  resurrection  can  only  be  fittingly  applied 
to  that  system  of  worldly  influence,  or,  in  other  words, 
to  that  "prince  of  the  world,"  whose  power  over  His 
people  Jesus  was  not  simply  to  modify,  but  to  ex- 
tinguish. The  Redeemer  of  the  world  came,  not  to 
wound  or  weaken  only,  but  to  *'  bring  to  nought,"  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death — that  is,  the  devil — and 
to  give  perfect  and  eternal  freedom  to  all  who  would 
allow  the  chains  in  which  Satan  had  bound  them  to  be 
broken.^  But  the  death,  if  we  may  so  speak,  of  Satan 
in  relation  to  them  was  accompanied  by  his  resurrec- 
tion in  relation  to  the  world,  over  which  the  great 
enemy  of  souls  was  thenceforward  to  exercise  a  more 
irresistible  sway  than  ever.  The  time  is  that  already 
spoken  of  in  the  previous  chapter,  when  the  devil  went 
down  into  the  earth,  "having  great  wrath,  knowing 
that  he  hath  but  a  short  season."  ^  Nor  is  there  any 
difficulty  in  determining  to  which  of  the  seven  heads 
of  the  beast  the  death  and  resurrection  spoken  of  apply, 
for  a  comparison  of  chap.  xvii.  8-1 1  with  the  present 
passage  shows  that  it  is  to  the  sixth,  or  Roman,  head 
that  St.  John  intends  his  language  to  refer. 

4.  Particular  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  fact  that 
it  is  upon  the  beast  in  his  resurrection  state  that  we  are 
to  dwell,  for  the  whole  earth  marvels  after  the  beast 
not  previously,  but  subsequently,  to  the  point  of  time  at 
which  the  stroke  of  his  death  is  healed.^  In  that  con- 
dition, too,  he  is  not  thought  of  as  raging  only  in  the 
Roman  empire.  His  influence  is  universal.  Wherever 
men  are  he  is :  And  there  was  given  to  him  authority 
over  every  tribe,  and  people,  and  tongue,  and  nation}  The 
fourfold   division   indicates   absolute    universality ;  and 

1  Hcb.  ii.  14.  ^  Vci-.  3,  4. 

2  Chap.  xii.  12.  ■*  Ver.  7. 


xiii.  li-io.]     SECOND  AND    THIRD  ENEMIES.  223 

the  whole  earth — that  is,  all  ungodly  ones — worships  the 
beast,  even  every  one  whose  name  has  not  been 
written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life.^  Thus  raging  with 
an  extent  of  power  never  possessed  by  any  form  of 
Roman  government  or  any  emperor  of  Rome,  he  rages 
also  throughout  all  time,  from  the  first  to  the  second 
coming  of  the  Lord,  for  he  has  authority  given  to  him  to 
continue  forty  and  two  months,'^  the  period  so  denoted 
embracing  the  whole  Christian  era  from  its  beginning 
to  its  close.  ^ 

5.  Three  points  more  may  be  noticed  before  drawing 
the  general  conclusion  to  which  all  this  leads.  In  the 
first  place,  the  beast  is  the  vicegerent  of  another  power 
which  acts  through  him  and  by  means  of  him.  The 
dragon  gave  him  his  power,  and  his  throne^  and  great 
authority.  The  dragon  himself  does  not  directly  act. 
He  has  his  representative,  or  vicar,  or  substitute,  in  the 
beast.  In  the  second  place,  the  worship  paid  by  "  the 
whole  earth "  to  the  beast,  when  it  cries.  Who  is  like 
unto  the  beast?  and  ivho  is  able  to  make  war  ivith  him  ? 
is  an  obvious  imitation  of  the  ascriptions  of  praise  to 
God  contained  in  not  a  few  passages  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment :  "  Who  is  like  unto  the  Lord  our  God,  that  hath 
His  seat  on  high  ?  " ;  "  To  whom  then  will  ye  liken 
Me,  that  I  should  be  equal  to  him  ?  saith  the  Holy 
One  ;"  "  Hearken  unto  Me,  O  house  of  Jacob,  and  all 
the  remnant  of  the  house  of  Israel.  ...  To  whom 
vv^ill  ye  liken  Me,  and  make  Me  equal,  and  compare  Me, 
that  we  may  be  like  ?  "  *  In  the  third  place,  the  beast 
opens  his  mouth,  not  onh^  to  blaspheme  against  God, 
but  against  His  tabernacle,  even  tlieni  that  tabernacle  in 


•  Vcr.  8.  ^  Comp   p.  1.75. 

2  Vcr.  5.  ^  Ps.  cxiii.  5  ;  Isa.  xl.  25,  xlvi.  3,  5. 


224  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  heaven}  expressions  in  which  the  use  of  the  word 
'  tabernacle  "  leads  directly  to  the  thought  of  opposi- 
tion to  Him  who  became  flesh  and  tabernacled  among 
us,  and  who  now  spreads  His  tabernacle  over  His 
saints.^ 

The  whole  description  of  the  beast  is  thus,  in  multi- 
plied particulars,  a  travesty  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself,  the  Head  and  King,  the  Guardian  and  Pro- 
tector, of  His  people.  Like  the  latter,  the  former  is 
the  representative,  the  ^'sent,"  of  an  unseen  power, 
by  whom  all  authority  is  '^  given  "  him  ;  he  has  his 
death  and  his  resurrection  from  the  dead ;  he  has  his 
throngs  of  marvelling  and  enthusiastic  worshippers  ; 
his  authority  over  those  who  own  his  sway  is  limited 
by  no  national  boundaries,  but  is  conterminous  with  the 
whole  world ;  he  gathers  up  and  unites  in  himself  all 
the  scattered  elements  of  darkness  and  enmity  to  the 
truth  which  had  previously  existed  among  men,  and 
from  which  the  Church  of  God  had  suffered. 

What  then  can  this  first  beast  be  ?  Not  Rome, 
either  pagan  or  papal;  not  any  single  form  of  earthly 
government,  however  strong ;  not  any  Roman  emperor, 
however  vicious  or  cruel ;  but  the  general  influence  of 
the  world,  in  so  far  as  it  is  opposed  to  God,  substituting 
the  human  for  the  Divine,  the  seen  for  the  unseen,  the 
temporal  for  the  eternal.  He  is  the  impersonation  of 
that  world  of  which  St.  Paul  writes,  "  We  received, 
not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  spirit  which  is 
of  God,"^  of  which  St.  James  speaks  when  he  says, 
^*  Whosoever  therefore  would  be  a  friend  of  the  world 
maketh  himself  an  enemy  of  God,"  *  and  in  regard  to 
which  St.  John  exhorts,  "  Love  not  the  world,  neither 

*  Ver.  6.  ^  I  Cor.  ii.  12.    Comp.  Gal.  vi.  14. 

*  John  i.  14;  Rev.  vii.  15.         *  James  iv.  4. 


xiii.  16-10.]     SECOND  AND    THIRD  ENEMIES,  225 

the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  If  any  man  love  the 
world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  For  all 
that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust 
of  the  eyes,  and  the  vain-glory  of  life,  is  not  of  the 
Father,  but  is  of  the  world."  ^  This  beast,  in  short,  is 
the  world  viewed  in  that  aspect  in  which  our  Lord 
Himself  could  say  of  it  that  the  devil  was  its  prince, 
which  He  told  His  disciples  He  had  overcome,  and  in 
regard  to  which  He  prayed  in  His  high-priestly  prayer, 
'^I  pray  not  that  Thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of  the 
world,  but  that  Thou  shouldest  keep  them  out  of  the 
evil  one.  They  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not 
of  the  world."  ^ 

The  influence  of  the  beast  here  spoken  of  is  therefore 
confined  to  no  party,  or  sect,  or  age.  It  may  be  found 
in  the  Church  and  in  the  State,  in  every  society,  in  every 
family,  or  even  in  every  heart,  for  wherever  man  is 
ruled  by  the  seen  instead  of  the  unseen  or  by  the 
material  instead  of  the  spiritual,  there  "  the  world  "  is. 
^'Our  wrestling  is  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but 
against  the  principalities,  against  the  powers,  against  the 
world-rulers  of  this  darkness,  against  the  spiritual 
hosts  of  wickedness  in  the  heavenly  places."  ^ 

Against  this  foe  the  true  life  of  the  saints  will  be 
preserved.  Nothing  can  harm  the  life  that  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God.  But  the  saints  may  nevertheless  be 
troubled,  and  persecuted,  and  killed,  as  were  the  wit- 
nesses of  chap,  xi.,  by  the  beast  that  had  given  unto 
him  to  make  war  with  them,  and  to  overcome  them. 
Such  is  the  thought  that  leads  to  the  last  words  of  the 
paragraph  with  which  we  are  now  dealing :  If  any  one 

*  I  John  ii.  15,  16. 

*  John  xiv,  30;  xvi.  T,Z't  ^^'^i-  ^5*  ^^' 
^  Eph.  vi.  12. 

15 


226  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

leadeth  into  captivity^  into  captivity  he  goetJi;  if  any  one 
shall  kill  with  the  sword,  with  the  sword  must  he  be 
killed.  In  the  great  law  of  God,  the  lex  talionis,  con- 
solation is  given  to  the  persecuted.  Their  enemies 
would  lead  them  into  captivity,  but  a  worse  captivity 
awaits  themselves.  They  would  kill  with  the  sword, 
but  with  a  sharper  sword  than  that  of  human  power 
they  shall  themselves  be  killed.  Is  there  not  enough 
in  that  to  inspire  the  saints  with  patience  and  faith  ? 
Well  may  they  endure  with  unfainting  hearts  when 
they  remember  who  is  upon  their  side,  for  "  it  is  a 
righteous  thing  with  God  to  recompense  affliction  to 
them  that  afQict  them,"  and  to  them  that  are  afflicted 
**  rest "  ^— rest  with  Apostles,  prophets,  martyrs,  the 
whole  Church  of  God,  rest  never  again  to  be  disturbed 
either  by  sin  or  sorrow.  Here  is  the  patience  and  the 
faith  of  the  saints. 

The  second  enemy  of  the  Church,  or  the  first  beast, 
has  been  described.  St.  John  now  proceeds  to  the 
third  enemy,  or  the  second  beast : — 

And  I  saw  another  beast  coming  up  out  of  the  earth ;  and  he  had 
two  horns  like  unto  a  lamb,  and  he  spoke  as  a  dragon.  And  he  exer- 
ciseth  all  the  authority  of  the  first  beast  in  his  sight ;  and  he  maketh 
the  earth  and  them  that  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first  beast,  the 
stroke  of  whose  death  was  healed.  And  he  doeth  great  signs,  that 
he  should  even  make  fire  to  come  down  out  of  heaven  upon  the 
earth  in  the  sight  of  men.  And  he  deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on 
the  earth  by  reason  of  the  signs  which  it  was  given  him  to  do  in 
the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth, 
that  they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast,  who  hath  the  stroke  of 
the  sword,  and  lived.  And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  give  breath  to  it, 
even  to  the  image  of  the  beast,  that  the  iir.age  of  the  beast  should 
both  speak,  and  cause  that  as  many  as  should  not  worsliip  the  image 
of  the  beast  should  be  killed.  And  he  causeth  all,  the  small  and  the 
great,  and  the  rich  and   the   poor,    and  the  free  and  the  bond,  that 

'  2  Thess.  i.  6,  7. 


xiii .  1 1  - 1 7.  ]    SE  COND  AND    THIRD  ENEMIES.  22 } 

there  be  given  them  a  mark  on  their  right  hand,  or  upon  their 
forehead  :  and  that  no  man  should  be  able  to  buy  or  to  sell,  save  he 
that  hath  the  mark,  even  the  name  of  the  beast  or  the  number  of  his 
name  (xiii.  Ii-i7)« 

The  first  beast  came  up  out  of  ^^the  sea"  (ver.  i)  ; 
the  second  beast  comes  up  out  of  the  earth :  and  the 
contrast,  so  strongly  marked,  between  these  two  sources, 
makes  it  necessary  to  draw  a  clear  and  definite  Hne  of 
distinction  between  the  origin  of  the  one  beast  and 
that  of  the  other.  The  "  sea,"  however,  both  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  in  the  New,  is  the  symbol  of  the 
mass  of  the  Gentile  nations,  of  the  heathen  world  in  its 
condition  of  alienation  from  God  and  true  religious  life. 
In  contrast  with  this,  the  ^*  earth,"  as  here  used,  must 
be  the  symbol  of  the  Jews,  among  whom,  to  whatever 
extent  they  had  abused  their  privileges,  the  Almighty 
had  revealed  Himself  in  a  special  manner,  showing 
^'His  word  unto  Jacob,  His  statutes  and  His  judg- 
ments unto  Israel."^  The  Jews  were  an  agricultural, 
not  a  commercial,  people ;  and  upon  that  great  high- 
way along  which  the  commerce  of  the  nations  poured 
they  looked  with  suspicion  and  dislike.  Hence  the  sea, 
in  its  restlessness  and  barrenness,  became  to  them  the 
emblem  of  an  irreligious  world ;  the  land,  in  its  quiet 
and  fruitfulness,  the  emblem  of  religion  with  all  its 
blessings.  In  this  sense  the  contrast  here  must  be 
understood ;  and  the  statement  as  to  the  different  origin 
of  the  first  and  second  beasts  is  of  itself  sufficient  to 
determine  that,  while  the  former  belongs  to  a  secular, 
the  latter  belongs  to  a  religious,  sphere.  Many  other 
particulars  mentioned  in  connexion  with  the  second 
beast  confirm  this  conclusion. 

*  Ps.  cxivii.  19. 


228  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

1.  The  two  hor'ns  like  unto  a  lamb  are  unquestionably 
a  travesty  of  the  *'  seven  horns  "  of  the  Lamb,  so  often 
spoken  of  m  these  visions ;  and  the  description  carries 
us  to  the  thought  of  Antichrist,  of  one  who  sets 
himself  up  as  the  true  Christ,  of  one  who,  professing 
to  imitate  the  Redeemer,  is  yet  His  opposite. 

2.  The  words  And  he  spoke  as  a  dragon  remind  us 
of  the  description  given  by  our  Lord  of  those  false 
teachers  who  ''  come  in  sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly 
are  ravening  wolves,"^  as  well  as  of  the  language  of 
St.  Paul  when  he  warns  the  Ephesian  elders  that 
after  his  departing  *'  grievous  wolves  shall  enter  in 
among  them,  not  sparing  the  flock."  ^ 

3.  The  function  to  which  this  beast  devotes  himself 
is  religious,  not  secular.  He  maketh  the  earth  and 
them  that  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first  beast;  and, 
having  persuaded  them  to  make  an  image  to  that 
beast,  it  was  given  unto  him  to  give  breath  to  it^  even 
to  the  image  of  the  beasty  that  the  image  of  the  beast 
should  both  speak,  and  cause  that  as  many  as  should  not 
worship  the  image  of  the  beast  should  be  killed^ 

4.  The  great  signs  and  wonders  done  by  this  beast, 
such  as  making  fire  to  come  down  out  of  heaven  upon 
the  earth  in  the  sight  of  men,  are  a  reminiscence  of  the 
prophet  Elijah  at  Carmel ;  while  the  signs  by  which 
he  successfully  deceives  the  world  take  us  again  to 
the  words  of  Jesus  :  "  There  shall  arise  false  Christs, 
and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show  great  signs  and 
wonders,  so  as  to  lead  astray,  if  possible,  even  the 
elect."  *  St.  Paul's  words  also,  when  he  speaks  of 
the  man  of  sin,  make  similar  mention  of  his  "  signs  : " 


»  Matt.  vii.   15.  «  Vers.   12,   15. 

*  Acts  XX.  29.  *  Matt    xxiv.  24. 


xiii.  ii-i;.]    SECOND  AND   THIRD  ENEMIES.  229 

^'  Whose  coming  is  according  to  the  working  of  Satan 
with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying  wonders,  and 
with  all  deceit  of  unrighteousness  for  them  that  are 
perishing ;  because  they  received  not  the  love  of 
the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved."  ^ 

5.  Finally,  the  fact  that  this  beast  bears  the  name 
of  "the  false  prophet,"^  the  very  term  used  by  St. 
John  when  speaking  of  the  false  teachers  who  had 
arisen  in  his  day,^  may  surely  be  accepted  as  con- 
clusive that  we  have  here  a  symbol  of  the  antichrists 
of  the  first  Epistle  of  that  Apostle.  Of  the  antichrists, 
let  it  be  observed,  not  of  Antichrist  as  a  single  indi- 
vidual manifestation.  For  there  is  a  characteristic  of 
this  beast  which  leads  to  the  impression  that  more 
than  one  agent  is  included  under  the  terms  of  the 
symbol.  The  beast  has  two  horns.  Why  two  ?  We 
may  be  sure  that  the  circumstance  is  not  without  a 
meaning,  and  that  it  is  not  determined  only  by  the 
fact  that  the  animal  referred  to  has  in  its  natural 
condition  the  rudiments  of  no  more  than  two.  In 
other  visions  of  the  Apocalypse  we  read  of  a  lamb 
with  "  seven  horns,"  and  of  a  head  of  the  beast  with 
"  ten  horns,"  the  numbers  in  both  cases  being  sym- 
bolical. The  "  two  horns "  now  spoken  of  must 
also  be  symbolical ;  and  thus  viewed,  the  expression 
leads  us  to  the  thought  of  the  two  witnesses,  of 
the  two  prophets  of  truth,  spoken  of  in  chap.  xi.  But 
these  two  witnesses  represent  all  faithful  witnesses 
for  Christ ;  and,  in  like  manner,  the  two  horns 
represent  the  many  perverters  of  the  Christian  faith 
beheld  by  the    Seer    springing    up    around  him,  who, 

*  2  Thess.  ii.  9,   10. 

*  Comp.  chaps,  xvi.   13;  xix.  20 ;  xx.   lO. 
^  I  John  iv.   I. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


professing  to  be  Apostles  of  the  Lamb,  endeavoured 
to  overthrow  His  Gospel. 

These  considerations  lead  to  a  natural  and  simple 
interpretation  of  what  is  meant  by  the  second  beast. 
The  plausible  interpretation  suggested  by  many  of  the 
ablest  commentators  on  this  book,  that  by  the  second 
beast  is  meant  "  worldly  wisdom,  comprehending  every- 
thing in  learning,  science  and  art  which  human  nature 
of  itself,  in  its  civilized  state,  can  attain  to,  the  worldly 
power  in  its  more  refined  and  spiritual  elements,  its 
prophetical  or  priestly  class,"  ^  must  be  unhesitatingly 
dismissed.  It  fails  to  apprehend  the  very  essence  of 
the  symbol.  It  speaks  of  a  secular  and  mundane  in- 
fluence, when  the  whole  point  of  St.  John's  words  lies 
in  this, — that  the  influence  of  which  he  speaks  is  reli- 
gious. Not  in  anything  springing  out  of  the  world 
in  its  ordinary  sense,  but  in  something  springing  out 
of  the  Church  and  the  Church's  faith,  is  the  meaning 
of  the  Apostle  to  be  sought. 

Was  there  anything  then  in  St.  John's  own  day  that 
might  have  suggested  the  figure  thus  employed  ?  Had 
he  ever  witnessed  any  spectacle  that  might  have 
burned  such  thoughts  into  his  soul  ?  Let  us  turn  to 
his  Gospel  and  learn  from  it  to  look  upon  the  world  as 
it  was  when  it  met  his  eyes.  What  had  he  seen,  and 
seen  with  an  indignation  that  penetrates  to  the  core  his 
narrative  of  his  Master's  life  ?  He  had  seen  the  Divine 
institution  of  Judaism,  designed  by  the  God  of  Israel 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Light  and  the  Life  of  men, 
perverted  by  its  appointed  guardians,  and  made  an 
instrument  for  blinding  instead  of  enlightening  the 
soul.     He  had  seen  the  Eternal  Son,  in  all  the  glory  of 


'  Fairbairn,  On  Prophecy,  p.  328. 


xii.  11-17.]     SECOND  AND   THIRD  ENEMIES.  231 

His  "grace"  and  ''truth/'  coming  to  the  things  that 
were  His  own,  and  yet  the  men  that  were  His  own 
rejecting  Him,  under  the  influence  of  their  selfish 
rehgious  guides.  He  had  seen  the  Temple,  which 
ought  to  have  been  filled  with  the  prayers  of  a  spiritual 
worship,  profaned  by  worldly  traffic  and  the  love  of 
gain.  Nay  more,  he  remembered  one  scene  so  terrible 
that  it  could  never  be  forgotten  by  him,  when  in  the 
judgment-hall  of  Pilate  even  that  unscrupulous  repre- 
sentative of  Roman  power  had  again  and  again  en- 
deavoured to  set  Jesus  free,  and  when  the  Jews  had 
only  succeeded  in  accomplishing  their  plan  by  the 
argument,  "  If  thou  release  this  man,  thou  art  not 
Caesar's  friend."  ^  They  Caesar's  friends  !  They  attach 
value  to  honours  bestowed  by  Caesar  !  O  vile  hypo- 
crisy !  O  dark  extremity  of  hate  !  Judaism  at  the 
feet  of  Caesar  !  So  powerfully  had  the  thought  of  these 
things  taken  possession  of  the  mind  of  the  beloved 
disciple,  so  deeply  was  he  moved  by  the  narrowness 
and  bigotry  and  fanaticism  which  had  usurped  the 
place  of  generosity  and  tenderness  and  love,  that,  in 
order  to  find  utterance  for  his  feelings,  he  had  been 
compelled  to  put  a  new  meaning  into  an  old  word,  and 
to  concentrate  into  the  term  ''the  Jews"  everything 
most  opposed  to  Christ  and  Christianity. 

Nor  was  it  only  in  Judaism  that  St.  John  had  seen 
the  spirit  of  religion  so  overmastered  by  the  spirit  of 
the  world  that  it  became  the  world's  slave.  He  had 
witnessed  the  same  thing  in  Heathenism.  It  is  by  no 
means  improbable  that  when  he  speaks  of  the  image  of 
the  beast  he  may  also  think  of  those  images  of  Caesar 
the  worshipping  of  which   was   everywhere  made   the 

'  Jchn  xix.  12. 


232  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

test  of  devotion  to  the  Roman  State  and  of  abjuration 
of  the  Christian  faith.  There  again  the  forms  and 
sanctions  of  rehgion  had  been  used  to  strengthen  the 
dominion  of  secular  power  and  worldly  force.  Both 
Judaism  and  Heathenism,  in  shprt,  supplied  the 
thoughts  which,  translated  into  the  language  of  sym- 
bolism, are  expressed  in  the  conception  of  the  second 
beast  and  its  relation  to  the  first. 

Yet  we  are  not  to  imagine  that,  though  St.  John 
started  from  these  things,  his  vision  was  confined  to 
them.  He  thinks  not  of  Jew  or  heathen  only  at  a 
particular  era,  but  of  man  ;  not  of  human  nature  only 
as  it  appears  amidst  the  special  circumstances  of  his 
own  day,  but  as  it  appears  everywhere  and  throughout 
all  time.  He  is  not  satisfied  with  dweUing  upon  exist- 
ing phenomena  alone.  He  penetrates  to  the  principles 
from  which  they  spring.  And  wherever  he  sees  a  spirit 
professing  to  uphold  rehgion,  but  objecting  to  all  the 
unpalatable  truths  with  which  it  is  connected  in  the 
Christian  faith,  wherever  he  sees  the  gate  to  future 
glory  made  wide  instead  of  narrow  and  the  way  broad 
instead  of  straitened,  there  he  beholds  the  dire  combina- 
tion of  the  first  and  second  beasts  presented  in  this 
chapter.  The  light  has  become  darkness,  and  how 
great  is  the  darkness  !^  The  salt  has  lost  its  savour, 
and  is  fit  neither  for  the  land  nor  for  the  dunghill.^ 

In  speaking  of  the  subserviency  of  the  second  to  the 
first  beast,  the  Seer  had  spoken  of  a  mark  given  to  all 
the  followers  of  the  latter  on  their  right  hand,  or  upon 
their  forehead,  and  without  which  no  one  was  to  be 
admitted  to  the  privileges  of  their  association  or  of 
buying    or    selling    in    their    city.        He    had    further 

>  Matt.  vi.  23.  2  I  u].^  xiv.  34,  35. 


xiii.  i8.]  SECOND  AND   THIRD  ENEMIES.  233 

described  this  mark  as  being  either  the  na-ne  of  the 
beast  or  the  niiinber  of  his  name.  To  explain  more  fully 
the  nature  of  this  ''  mark  "  appears  to  be  the  aim  of 
the  last  verse  of  the  chapter  : — 

Here  is  wisdom.  He  that  hath  understanding,  let  him  count  the 
number  of  the  beast :  for  it  is  the  number  of  a  man ;  and  his  number 
is  six  hundred  and  sixty  and  six  (xiii.  18). 

To  discuss  with  anything  like  fulness  the  difficult 
questions  connected  with  these  words  would  require 
a  volume  rather  than  the  few  sentences  at  the  close 
of  a  chapter  that  can  be  here  devoted  to  it.  Referring, 
therefore,  his  readers  to  what  he  has  elsewhere  written 
on  this  subject/  the  writer  can  only  make  one  or  two 
brief  rem.arks,  in  order  to  point  out  the  path  in  which 
the  solution  of  the  problems  suggested  by  the  words 
must  be  sought. 

It  is  indeed  remarkable  that  the  Seer  should  speak 
at  all  of  "  the  number  "  of  the  name  of  the  beast ;  that 
is,  of  the  number  which  would  be  gained  by  adding 
together  the  numbers  represented  by  the  several  letters 
of  the  name.  Why  not  be  content  with  the  name 
itself?  Throughout  this  book  the  followers  of  Christ 
are  never  spoken  of  as  stamped  with  a  number,  but 
either  with  the  name  of  the  Father  or  the  Son,  or  with 
a  new  name  which  no  one  ^'knoweth"  saving  he  that 
receiveth  it.^  Now  the  principle  of  Antithesis  or 
Contrast,  which  so  largely  rules  the  structure  of  the 
Apocalypse,  might  lead  us  to  expect  a  similar  procedure 
in  the  case  of  the  followers  of  the  beast.  Why  then 
is  it  not  resorted  to  ? 

'    The  Revelation  of  St.  John  :  Baird  Lectures  published  by  Macmillan 
and  Co.,  second  edition,  p.  142,  etc.,  319,  etc. 
^  Comp.  chaps,  iii.  12;  xiv.  I  ;  ii.  17. 


234  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

I.  St.  John  may  not  himself  have  known  the  name. 
He  may  have  been  acquainted  only  with  the  character 
of  the  beast,  and  with  the  fact,  too  often  overlooked 
by  inquirers,  that  to  that  character  its  name,  when 
made  known,  must  correspond.  It  is  not  any  name,  any 
designation,  by  which  the  beast  may  be  individualized, 
that  will  fulfil  the  conditions  of  his  thought.  No  reader 
of  St.  John's  writings  can  have  failed  to  notice  that 
to  him  the  word  *'name"  is  far  more  than  a  mere 
appellative.  It  expresses  the  inner  nature  of  the  person 
to  whom  it  is  applied.  The  "  name  '^  of  the  Father 
expresses  the  character  of  the  Father,  that  of  the  Son 
the  character  of  the  Son.  The  Seer,  therefore,  might 
be  satisfied  in  the  present  instance  with  his  conviction 
that  the  name  of  the  beast,  whatever  it  be,  must  be 
a  name  which  will  express  the  inner  nature  of  the 
beast ;  and  he  may  have  asked  no  more.  Not  only  so. 
When  we  enter  into  the  style  of  the  Apostle's  thought, 
we  may  even  inquire  whether  it  was  possible  for  a 
Christian  to  know  the  name  of  the  beast  in  the  sense 
which  the  word  ''  name"  demands.  No  man  could  know 
the  new  name  written  upon  the  white  stone  given  to 
him  that  overcometh  "  but  he  that  receiveth  it."  ^  In 
other  words,  no  one  but  a  Christian  indeed  could  have 
that  Christian  experience  which  would  enable  him  to 
understand  the  "  new  name."  In  like  manner  now, 
St.  John  may  have  felt  that  it  was  not  possible  for  the 
followers  of  Christ  to  know  the  name  of  Antichrist. 
Antichristian  experience  alone  could  teach  the  name 
of  Antichrist,  service  of  the  beast  the  name  of  the 
beast ;  and  such  experience  no  Christian  could  have. 
But  this  need  not  hinder  him  from  giving  the  number. 

*  Chap,  ii.  17.     Comp.  John  i.  31  ;  iv.  32. 


xiii.  1 8.]  SECOND  AND   THIRD  ENEMIES.  235 

The  ^'number"  spoke  only  of  general  character  and 
fate  ;  and  knowledge  of  it  did  not  imply,  like  knowledge 
of  the  ''name,"  communion  of  spirit  with  him  to  whom 
the  name  belonged. 

2.  From  this  it  follows  that  not  the  ''  name,"  but  the 
''number"  of  the  name,  is  of  importance  in  the  Apostle's 
view.  The  name  no  doubt  must  have  a  meaning  which, 
taken  even  by  itself,  would  be  portentous  ;  but,  accord- 
ing to  the  artificial  system  of  thought  here  followed, 
the  "number"  is  the  real  portent,  the  real  bearer  of 
the  Divine  message  of  wrath  and  doom. 

3.  This  is  precisely  the  lesson  borne  by  the  number 
^66.      The   number  six  itself  awakened   a    feeling  of 
dread  in  the  breast  of  the  Jew  who  felt  the  significance, 
of  numbers.      It  fell  below   the  sacred   number  seven 
just  as    much    as   eight    went    beyond   it.       This    last 
number  denoted   more   than  the  simple  possession  of 
the  Divine.      As  in  the   case   of  circumcision  on   the 
eighth  day,    of  the    "  great    day "  of  the   feast  on   the 
eighth  day,  or  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  on  the 
first  day  of  the  w^eek,  following  the  previous  seven  days, 
it  expressed    a  new  beginning  in  active  power.      By 
a  similar  process  the  number  six  was  held  to  signify 
inabihty  to  reach  the  sacred  point  and  hopeless  falling 
short  of  it.     To  the  Jew  there  was  thus  a  doom  upon 
the  number  six  even  when  it  stood  alone.     Triple  it  ; 
let  there  be  a  multiple  of  it  by  ten  and  then  a  second 
time   by  ten  until  you    obtain   three    mysterious  sixes 
following  one  another,  666)  and  we  have  represented 
a  potency  of  evil  than  which  there  can  be  none  greater, 
a   direfulness  of  fate  than  which  there   can    be    none 
worse.     The  number  then  is  important,  not  the  name. 
Putting  ourselves  into  the  position  of  the  time,  we  listen 
to  the  words,  His  number  is  six  hundred  sixty  and  six; 


236  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

and  we  have  enough  to  make  us  tremble.  Nay,  there 
is  in  them  a  depth  of  sin  and  a  weight  of  punishment 
which  no  one  can  "know"  but  he  who  has  committed 
the  sin  and  shared  the  punishment. 

From  all  that  has  been  said  it  would  seem  that  there 
is  no  possibility  of  finding  the  name  of  the  beast  in  the 
name  of  any  single  individual  who  has  yet  appeared 
upon  the  stage  of  history.  It  may  well  be  that  in  Nero, 
or  Domitian,  or  any  other  persecutor  of  the  Church, 
the  Seer  beheld  a  type  of  the  beast ;  but  the  whole 
strain  of  the  chapter  forbids  the  supposition  that  the 
meaning  of  the  name  is  exhausted  in  any  single  indi- 
vidual. No  merely  human  ruler,  no  ruler  over  merely 
a  portion  of  the  world  however  large,  no  ruler  who  had 
not  died  and  risen  from  the  grave,  and  who  after  his 
resurrection  had  not  been  hailed  with  enthusiasm  by 
"  every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation,"  can 
be  the  beast  referred  to.  Whether  St.  John  expected 
such  a  ruler  in  the  future ;  whether  this  beast,  like  the 
"  little  horn  "  of  Daniel,  which  had  "  eyes  like  the  eyes 
of  a  man,  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things,"^  was  not 
only  bestial,  but  human  ;  or  whether  in  its  individuality 
it  was  no  more  than  a  personification  of  antichristian 
sin  and  cruelty,  is  another  and  a  more  difficult  question. 
Yet  his  tendency  to  represent  abstract  ideas  by  con- 
crete images  would  lead  to  the  latter  rather  than  the 
former  supposition.  One  thing  is  clear  :  that  the  bestial 
principle  was  already  working,  although  it  might  not 
have  reached  its  full  development.  The  "  many  anti- 
christs"^ might  be  the  precursors  of  a  still  more  terrible 
Antichrist,  but  they  worked  in  the  same  spirit  and 
towards    the  same  end.     Nor  are  they  to  be  less  the 

'  Dan.  vii.  8.  ^  Ccmp.  I  John  ii.  18. 


xiii.  18.]  SECOND  AND    THIRD  ENEMIES.  237 

object  of  alienation  and  abhorrence  to  the  Christian  now 
than  when  they  may  be  concentrated  in  "  the  lawless 
one,  whom  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  slay  with  the  breath  of 
His  mouth,  and  bring  to  nought  by  the  manifestation  of 
His  coming. 

*  2  Thess.  ii.  8. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

TJIE  LAMB    ON  THE  MOUNT  ZION  AND   THE  HAR- 
VEST AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD, 

Rev.  xiv. 

THE  twelfth  and  thirteenth  chapters  of  this  book 
were  designed  to  set  before  us  a  picture  of  the 
three  great  enemies  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  We  have 
been  told  of  the  dragon,  the  principle  and  root  of  all 
the  evil,  whether  inward  or  outward,  from  which  that 
Church  suffers.  He  is  the  first  enemy.  We  have 
been  further  told  of  the  first  beast,  of  that  power  or 
prince  of  the  world  to  whom  the  dragon  has  committed 
his  authority.  He  is  the  second  enemy.  Lastly,  we 
have  been  told  of  that  false  spirit  of  religion  which 
unites  itself  to  the  world,  and  which,  even  more 
opposed  than  the  world  itself  to  the  unworldly  spirit  of 
Christianity,  makes  the  relation  of  God's  children  to  the 
world  worse  than  it  might  otherwise  have  been.  The 
picture  thus  presented  is  in  the  highest  degree  fitted  to 
depress  and  to  discourage.  The  thought  more  espe- 
cially of  faithlessness  in  the  Church  fills  the  heart  with 
sorrow.  The  saddest  feature  in  the  sufferings  of  Jesus 
was  that  He  was  "wounded  in  the  house  of  His 
friends  ; "  and  there  is  a  greater  than  ordinary  d^pth 
of  pathos  in  the  words  with  which  the  beloved  disciple 
draws  to  a  close  his  record  of  his   Master's  struggle 


xiv.]  LAMB   ON  THE  MOUNT  ZION.  239 

with  the  Jews  :  *'  These  things  spake  Jesus  ;  and  He 
departed,  and  was  hidden  from  them.  But  though  He 
had  done  so  many  signs  before  them,  yet  they  beUeved 
not  on  Him  :  that  the  word  of  Isaiah  the  prophet  might 
be  fulfilled,  which  he  spake,  Lord,  who  hath  believed 
our  report  ?  and  to  whom  hath  the  arm  of  the  Lord 
been  revealed  ?  "  ^ 

Even  then,  however,  it  was  not  wholly  darkness  and 
defeat,  for  the  Evangelist  immediately  adds,   "  Never- 
theless even  of  the  rulers  many  believed  on  Him  ; "  and 
he  closes    the  struggle  with  the   words  of  calm  self- 
confidence  on  the  part  of  Jesus,  "  The  things  therefore 
which  I  speak,  even  as  the  Father  hath  said  unto  Me, 
so  I  speak."  ^     Thus  also  is  it  here,  and  we  pass  from 
the  dark  spectacle  on  which  our  eyes  have  rested  to  a 
scene  of  heavenly  light,  and  beauty,  and  repose.     The 
reader  may  indeed  at  first  imagine  that  the  symmetry 
of  structure  which  has  been  pointed  out  as  a  character- 
istic of  the  Apocalypse  is  not  preserved  by  the  arrange- 
ment of  its  parts  in   the  present  instance.     We   are 
about  to  meet  in  the  following  chapter  the  third  and 
last  series  of  plagues ;  and   we  might  perhaps  expect 
that  the  consolatory  visions  contained  in   this  chapter 
ought   to  have  found  a   place   between  the  sixth  and 
seventh  Bowls,  just  as  the  consolatory  visions  of  chap.  vii. 
and  of  chaps,  x.  and  xi.  found  their  place  between  the 
sixth    and   seventh   Seals   and  the   sixth   and   seventh 
Trumpets.      Instead  of  this  the  seventh  Bowl,  at  chap. 
XV.  17,  immediately  follows  the  sixth,  at  ver.  12  of  the 
same  chapter ;  and  the  visions  of  encouragement  con- 
tained in  the  chapter  before  us  precede  all  the  Bowls. 
The  explanation  may  be  that  the  Bowls  are  the  last  and 

'  John  xii.  36-38.  2  Vers.  42,  50. 


240  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


highest  series  of  judgments,  and  that  when  they  begin 
there  can  be  no  more  pause.  One  plague  must  rush 
upon  another  till  the  end  is  reached.  The  final  judg- 
ments brook  neither  interruption  nor  delay. 

In  this  spirit  we  turn  to  the  first  vision  of  chap.  xiv. : — 

And  I  saw,  and,  behold,  the  Lamb  standing  on  the  mount  Zion,  and 
with  Him  a  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand,  having  His  name 
and  the  name  of  His  Father  written  on  their  foreheads.  And  I 
heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the 
voice  of  a  great  thunder :  and  the  voice  which  I  heard  was  as  the 
voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their  harps  :  and  they  sang  as  it  were 
a  new  song  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  four  living  creatures,  and 
the  elders  :  and  no  man  could  learn  the  song  save  the  hundred  and 
forty  and  four  thousand,  even  they  that  had  been  purchased  out  of 
the  earth.  These  are  they  which  were  not  defiled  with  women;  for 
they  are  virgins.  These  are  they  which  follow  the  Lamb  whitherso- 
ever He  goeth.  These  were  purchased  from  among  men,  a  first-fruits 
unto  God  and  unto  the  Lamb.  And  in  their  mouth  was  found  no  lie  ; 
they  are  without  blemish  (xiv.  1-5). 

The  scene  of  the  vision  is  **the  mount  Zion,"  that 
Zion  so  often  spoken  of  both  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New 
Testament  as  God's  peculiar  seat,  and  in  the  eyes  of 
Israel  famous  for  the  beauty  of  its  morning  dews.^  It 
t  is  the  Zion  in  which  God  "  dwells/'  ^  the  mount  Zion 
which  He  'Moved," ^  and  ''out  of  which  salvation 
comes."  *  It  is  that  "  holy  hill  of  Zion "  upon  which 
God  set  the  Son  as  King  when  He  said  to  Him,  "  Thou 
art  My  Son ;  this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee."  ^  It  is 
that  Zion,  too,  to  which  "  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
shall  return,  and  come  with  singing  ;  and  everlasting 
joy  shall  be  upon  their  heads."  '^  Finally,  it  is  that 
home  of  which  the  sacred  writer,  writing  to  the 
Hebrews,  says,  "Ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and 

*  Ps.  cxxxiii.  3,  •  Ps.  Ixxviii.  68.  '  Ps.  ii.  6,  7. 

''■  Ps.  ix.  II.  *Fs.  xiv.  7,  •  Isa.  xxxv.  lO. 


xiv.  1-5.]  LAMB   ON  THE  MOUNT  ZION.  241 

unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
and  to  innumerable  hosts  of  angels,  to  the  general 
assembly  and  Church  of  the  first-born,  who  are  enrolled 
in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the 
Mediator  of  a  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of 
sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  than  that  of  Abel."^ 
Upon  this  mount  Zion  the  Lamb — that  is,  the  crucified 
and  risen  Lamb  of  chap.  v. — stands,  firm,  self-possessed, 
and  calm. 

There  is  more,  however,  than  outward  beauty  or 
sacred  memories  to  mark  the  scene  to  which  we  are  in- 
troduced. Mount  Zion  may  be  ''  beautiful  in  elevation, 
the  joy  of  the  whole  earth,  on  the  sides  of  the  north,  the 
city  of  the  great  King."  ^  But  there  is  music  for  the  ear 
as  well  as  beauty  for  the  eye.  The  mount  resounds  with 
song,  rich  and  full  of  meaning  to  those  who  can  under- 
stand it.  A  voice  is  heard  from  heaven  which  seems 
to  be  distinguished  from  the  voice  of  the  hundred  and 
forty  and  four  thousand  to  be  immediately  spoken  of. 
We  are  not  told  from  whom  it  comes  ;  but  it  is  there, 
as  the  voice  of  many  zvaters,  and  as  the  voice  of  a  great 
thundery  and  as  the  voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their 
harps.  Majesty  and  sweetness  mark  it.  It  is  the 
music  that  is  ever  in  God's  presence,  not  the  music  of 
angels  only,  or  glorified  saints,  or  a  redeemed  creation. 
More  probably  it  is  that  of  all  of  them  together.  And 
the  song  which  they  sing  is  new,  like  that  of  chap.  v.  9, 
which  is  sung  by  '*  the  four  living  creatures  and  the 
four-and-twenty  elders,  who  have  each  one  a  harp,  and 
golden  bowls  of  incense,  which  are  the  prayers  of  the 
saints."     That  song  the  Church  on  earth  understands, 

*  Heb.  xii.  22-24.  "^  Ps.  xl\  iii.  2. 

i6 


242  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

and  she  alone  can  understand.  It  spoke  of  truths 
which  the  redeemed  alone  could  appreciate,  and  of  joys 
which  they  alone  could  value.  There  is  a  communion 
of  saints,  of  all  saints  on  earth  and  of  all  who  fill  the 
courts  of  the  Lord's  house  on  high.  Even  now  the 
Church  can  listen  with  ravished  ear  to  songs  which 
she  shall  hereafter  join  in  singing. 

Standing  beside  the  Lamb  upon  Mount  Zion,  there 
are  a  hundred  and  foHy  mid  four  thousand^  having  the 
Lamb's  name  and  the  name  of  His  Father  ivritten  on  their 
foreheads,  in  token  of  their  priestly  state.  We  cannot 
avoid  asking,  Are  these  the  same  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  thousand  of  whom  we  have  read  in  chap.  vii.  as 
sealed  upon  their  foreheads,  or  are  they  different  ?  The 
natural  inference  is  that  they  are  the  same.  To  use 
such  a  peculiar  number  of  two  different  portions  of  the 
Church  of  God  would  lead  to  a  confusion  inconsistent 
with  the  usually  plain  and  direct,  even  though  mystical, 
statements  of  this  book.  Besides  which  they  have  the 
mark  or  seal  of  God  in  both  cases  on  the  same  part  of 
their  bodies, — the  forehead.  It  is  true  that  the  definite 
article  is  not  prefixed  to  the  number  ;  but  neither  is  that 
article  prefixed  to  the  "  glassy  sea  "  of  chap.  xv.  I,  and 
yet  no  one  doubts  that  this  is  the  same  "  glassy  sea  " 
as  that  of  chap.  iv.  Besides  which  the  absence  of  the 
article  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the 
reference  is  not  directly  to  the  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  thousand  of  chap.  vii.  4,  but  to  the  innumerable 
multitude  of  chap.  vii.  9.^  We  have  already  seen, 
however,  that  these  two  companies  are  the  same, 
although  the  persons  composing  them  are  viewed  in 
different  lights  ;  and  the  hundred  and  forty  and   four 

^  Comp.    Lee    in   Speakers    Commentary  in   loc.      The    di.-tinction 
between  the  tv.-o  references  is  there  wrongly  given. 


xiv.  1-5.]  LAMB   ON  THE  MOUNT  ZION,  243 

thousand  here  correspond,  not  to  the  first,  but  to  the 
second,  company.  They  are  in  full  possession  of  their 
Christian  privileges  and  joys.  They  are  not  ^*in 
heaven,"  in  the  ordinary  meaning  of  that  term.  They 
are  on  earth.  But  the  two  companies  formerly  men- 
tioned meet  in  them.  They  are  both  sealed,  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  Lamb. 

The  character  of  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four 
thousand  next  claims  our  thoughts. 

1.  They  were  not  defiled  with  women ^  for  they  are 
virgins.  The  words  cannot  be  literally  understood, 
but  must  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  similar  words  of 
the  Apostle  Paul,  when,  WTiting  to  the  Corinthians, 
he  says,  ''  For  1  am  jealous  over  you  with  a  godly 
jealousy :  for  I  espoused  you  to  one  Husband,  that  I 
might  present  you  as  a  pure  virgin  to  Christ."  ^  Such 
^'  a  pure  virgin "  were  the  hundred  and  forty  and  . 
fear  thousand  now  standing  upon  the  mount  Zion. 
They  had  renounced  all  that  unfaithfulness  to  God  and 
to  Divine  truth  which  is  so  often  spoken  of  in  the 
Old  Testament  as  spiritual  fornication  or  adultery. 
They  had  renounced  all  sin.  In  the  language  of  St. 
John  in  his  first  Epistle,  they  had  "  the  true  God,  and 
eternal  life."  They  had  ''guarded  themselves  from 
idols."  2 

2.  They  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth. 
They  shrink  from  no  part  of  the  Redeemer's  life 
whether  on  earth  or  in  heaven.  They  follow  Him  in 
His  humiliation,  labours,  sufferings,  death,  resurrection, 
and  ascension.  They  obey  the  command  ''Follow 
thou  Me"^  in  prosperity  or  adversity,  in  joy  or  sorrow, 
in  persecution    or   triumph.     Wherever  their  Lord  is 

*  2  Cor.  xi.  2.  -  I  John  v.  20,  21.  *  John  xxi.  22. 


244  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

they  also  are,  one  with  Him,  members  of  His  Body 
and  partakers  of  His  Spirit. 

3.  Th^y'diVQ  purcliased  from  among  men,  a  first-fruits 
unto  God  and  unto  the  Lamb.  And  in  their  mouth  ivas 
found  no  lie;  they  are  without  blemish.  Upon  the  fact 
that  they  are  "  purchased  "  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell. 
We  have  already  met  with  the  expression  in  chap. 
V.  9,  in  one  of  the  triumphant  songs  of  the  redeemed. 
Nor  does  it  seem  needful  to  speak  of  the  moral  qualifi- 
cations here  enumerated,  further  than  to  observe  that 
in  other  parts  of  this  book  the  "  lie"  is  expressly  said 
to  exclude  from  the  new  Jerusalem,  and  to  be  a  mark 
of  those  upon  whom  the  door  is  shut,^  while  the 
epithet  "  without  blemish  "  is  elsewhere,  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  applied  to  our  Lord.^ 

The  appellation  "a  first-fruits"  demands  more  notice. 
The  figure  is  drawn  from  the  well-known  offering  of 
*'  first-fruits  "  under  the  Jewish  law,  in  which  the  first 
portion  of  any  harvest  was  dedicated  to  God,  in  token 
that  the  whole  belonged  to  Him,  and  was  recognised 
as  His.  Hence  it  always  implies  that  something  of 
the  same  kind  will  follow  it,  and  in  this  sense  it  is  often 
used  in  the  New  Testament :  "  If  the  first-fruit  is  holy, 
so  is  the  lump  ; "  "  Epsenetus,  who  is  the  first-fruits  of 
Asia  unto  Christ ; "  ''  Now  hath  Christ  been  raised 
from  the  dead,  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  are  asleep  ; " 
*'  Ye  know  the  house  of  Stephanas,  that  it  is  the  first- 
fruits  of  Achaia."^  In  like  manner  the  mention  of  the 
hundred  ard  fcrty  and  four  thousand  as  "first-fruits" 
suggests  the  thought  of  something  to  follow.  What 
that  is  it  is  more  difficult  to  say.      It  can  hardly  be 

J  Chaps,  xxi.  27  ;  xxii.  15. 
*  Heb.  ix.  14;   I  Ptt.  i.  19. 
Rom.  xi.  16     xvi.  5  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  20;  xvi.  15. 


xiv.6-2o.]  HARVEST  AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD.   245 


other  Christians  belonging  to  a  later  age  of  the  Church's 
history  upon  earth,  for  the  end  is  come.  It  can  hardly 
be  Christians  who  have  done  or  suffered  more  than 
other  members  of  the  Christian  family,  for  in  St.  John's 
eyes  all  Christians  are  united  to  Christ,  alike  in 
work  and  martyrdom.  Only  one  supposition  remains. 
The  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand,  as  the  whole 
Church  of  God,  are  spoken  of  in  the  sense  in  which  the 
same  expression  is  used  by  the  Apostle  James  :  '*  Of 
His  own  will  He  brought  us  forth  by  the  word  of 
truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first-fruits  of  His 
creatures."  ^  Not  as  the  first  portion  of  the  Church  on 
earth,  to  be  followed  by  another  portion,  but  as  the 
first  portion  of  a  kingdom  of  God  wider  and  larger  than 
the  Church,  are  the  words  to  be  understood.  The 
whole  Church  is  God's  first-fruits ;  and  when  she  is  laid 
upon  His  altar,  we  have  the  promise  that  a  time  is 
coming  when  creation  shall  follow  in  her  train,  when 
"  it  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption 
into  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God,"  ^ 
when  "  the  mountains  and  the  hills  shall  break  forth 
before  the  Redeemer  into  singing,  and  all  the  trees  of 
the  field  shall  clap  their  hands."  ^ 

Why  shall  nature  thus  rejoice  before  the  Lord  ?  Let 
the  Psalmist  answer  :  "  For  He  cometh,  for  He  cometh 
to  judge  the  earth  :  He  shall  judge  the  world  with 
righteousness,  and  the  people  with  His  truth."*  This 
thought  may  introduce  us  to  the  next  portion  of  the 
chapter : — 

And  I  saw  another  angel  flying  in  mid-heaven,  having  an  eternal 
gospel  to  proclaim  over  them  that  sit  on  the  earth,  and  over  every 
nation,   and  tribe,   and  tongue,  and  people  ;  and  he  saith  with  a  great 


*  James  i.  18.  '  Isa.  Iv.  12. 

*  Rom.  viii,  21.  *  Ps.  xcvi.  13. 


246  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  Him  glory ;  for  the  hour  of  His  judgment  is 
come  :  and  worship  Him  that  made  the  heaven,  and  the  earth,  and 
sea,  and  fountains  of  waters. 

And  another,  a  second  angel,  followed,  saying,  Fallen,  fallen,  is 
Babylon  the  great,  which  hath  made  all  the  nations  to  drink  of  the 
wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication. 

And  another  angel,  a  third,  followed  them,  saying  with  a  great 
voice,  If  any  man  worshippeth  the  beast  and  his  image,  and  receiveth 
a  mark  on  his  forehead,  or  upon  his  hand,  he  also  shall  drink  of  the 
wine  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is  mingled  unmixed  in  the  cup  of 
His  anger;  and  he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire  and  brimstone  in  the 
presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb  :  and 
the  smoke  of  their  torment  goeth  up  unto  ages  of  ages :  and  they 
have  no  rest  day  and  night,  they  that  worship  the  beast  and  his 
image,  and  whoso  receiveth  the  mark  of  his  name.  Here  is  the 
patience  of  the  saints,  they  that  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
the  faith  of  Jesus,  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying.  Write, 
Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth  :  Yea, 
saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  toils ;  for  their  works 
follow  with  them. 

And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  white  cloud,  and  on  the  cloud  I  saw 
One  sittmg  like  unto  a  Son  of  man,  having  on  His  head  a  golden 
crown,  and  in  His  hand  a  sharp  sickle. 

And  another  angel  came  out  from  the  temple,  crying  with  a  great 
voice  to  Him  that  sat  on  the  cloud.  Send  forth  Thy  sickle,  and  reap  : 
for  the  hour  to  reap  is  come ;  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  full}-  ripe. 
And  He  that  sat  on  the  cloud  cast  His  sickle  upon  the  earth ;  and  the 
earth  was  reaped. 

And  another  angel  came  out  from  the  temple  which  is  in  heaven, 
he  also  having  a  sharp  sickle. 

And  another  angel  came  out  from  the  altar,  he  that  hath  power 
over  fire ;  and  he  called  with  a  great  voice  to  him  that  had  the  sharp 
sickle,  saying,  Send  forth  thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters  of 
the  vine  of  the  earth  ;  for  her  bunches  of  grapes  are  ripe.  And  the 
angel  cast  his  sickle  into  the  earth,  and  gathered  the  vine  of  the 
earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  winepress,  the  great  winepress,  of  the  wrath 
of  God.  And  the  winepress  was  trodden  without  the  city,  and  there 
came  out  blood  from  the  winepress,  even  unto  the  bridles  of  the 
horses,  as  far  as  a  th  usand  and  six  hundred  furlongs  (xiv.  6-20). 

The  first  point  to  be  noticed  in  connexion  with  these 
verses  is  tiieir  structure,  for  the  structure  is  of  im- 
portance   to    the   interpretation.      The   passage    as   a 


xiv.6-20.]  HARVEST  AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD.  247 

whole,  it  will  be  easily  observed,  consists  of  seven 
parts,  the  first  three  and  the  last  three  being  introduced 
by  an  ''  angel,"  while  the  central  or  chief  part  is 
occupied  with  One  who,  from  the  description,  can  be 
no  other  than  our  Lord  Himself  In  this  part  it  is 
also  obvious  that  the  Lord  comes  to  wind  up  the  history 
of  the  world,  and  to  gather  in  that  harvest  of  His 
people  which  is  already  fully  or  even  overripe.  There 
can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  we  are  here  at 
the  very  close  of  the  present  dispensation  ;  and,  as 
five  out  of  the  six  parts  which  are  grouped  around 
the  central  figure  are  occupied  with  judgment  on  the 
wicked,  the  presumption  is  that  the  only  remaining 
part,  the  first  of  the  six,  will  be  occupied  with  the 
same  topic. 

In  this  first  part  indeed  we  read  of  an  eternal  gospel 
proclaimed  over  them  that  sit  on  the  earth,  and  over  every 
nation,  and  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people ;  and  the  first 
impression  made  upon  us  is  that  we  have  here  a 
universal  and  final  proclamation  of  the  glad  tidings 
of  great  joy,  in  order  that  the  world  may  yet,  at  the 
last  moment,  repent,  believe,  and  be  saved.  But  such 
an  interpretation,  however  plausible  and  generally 
accepted,  must  be  set  aside.  The  light  thrown  upon 
the  words  by  their  position  in  the  series  of  seven  parts 
already  spoken  of  is  a  powerful  argument  against  it. 
Everything  in  the  passage  itself  leads  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. We  do  not  read,  as  we  ought,  were  this  the 
meaning,  to  have  read,  of  '^  the,"  but  of  ^'  an,"  eternal 
gospel.  This  gospel  is  proclaimed,  not  ''unto,"  but 
*^  over,"  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  Its  hearers  do 
not  "dwell,"  as  in  both  the  Authorised  and  Revised 
Versions,  but,  as  in  the  margin  of  the  latter,  ''  sit,"  on 
\iiQ  er.rlh,   in  the    sinful  world,  in  the  carelessness  of 


248  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

pride  and  self-confident  security.  Thus  the  great 
harlot  "  sitteth  upon  many  waters  ; "  and  thus  Babylon 
says  in  her  heart,  '^  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  widow, 
and  shall  in  no  wise  see  mourning."^  There  is  no 
humiliation,  no  spirit  of  repentance,  no  preparation  for 
the  Gospel^  here  ;  while  the  mention  of  the  "  earth  "  and 
the  fourfold  division  of  its  inhabitants  lead  us  to  think 
of  men  continuing  in  their  sins,  over  whom  a  doom 
is  to  be  pronounced.^  Still  further,  the  words  put  into 
the  mouth  of  him  who  speaks  ''  with  a  great  voice," 
and  which  appear  to  contain  the  substance  of  the 
gospel  thus  proclaimed,  have  in  them  no  sound  of 
mercy,  no  story  of  love,  no  mention  of  the  name  of 
Jesus.  They  speak  of  fearing  God  and  giving  glory  to 
Him,  as  even  the  lost  may  do,^  of  the  hour,  not  even 
the  "day,"  of  His  judgment ;  and  they  describe  the 
rule  of  the  great  Creator  by  bringing  together  the  four 
things—///^  heaven,  and  the  earth,  and  sea,  and  fountains 
of  waters — upon  which  judgment  has  already  fallen 
in  the  series  of  the  Trumpets,  and  is  yet  to  fall  in 
that  of  the  Bowls.*  Lastly,  the  description  given  of 
the  angel  reminds  us  so  much  of  the  description  given 
of  the  "eagle"  in  chap.  viii.  13  as  to  make  it  at  least 
probable  that  his  mission  is  a  similar  one  of  woe. 

In  the  light  of  all  these  circumstances,  we  seem 
compelled  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  "gospel" 
referred  to  is  a  proclamation  of  judgment,  that  it  is 
that  side  of  the  Saviour's  mission  in  which  He  appears 
as  the  winnowing  fan  by  which  His  enemies  are 
scattered  as  the  chaff,  while  His  disciples  are  gathered 
as  the  wheat.  There  is  no  intimation  here,  then,  of 
a  conversion  of   the  world.     The   world   stands    self- 

•  Chaps,  xvii.  I  ;  xviii.  7,  ^  Comp.  James  ii.  19. 

*  Comp.  chaps,  xi.  9;  xiii.  7.  *  Chap?,  viii.,  xv. 


xiv.6-20.]  HARVEST  AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD.   249 

convicted  before  the  bar  of  judgment,  to  hear  its  doom. 
The  cry  of  the  second  angel  corresponds  to  that  of 
the  first.  It  proclaims  the  fall  of  Babylon  and  its  cause. 
The  deeply  interesting  questions  relating  to  this  city 
will  meet  us  at  a  later  point.  In  the  meantime  it  is 
enough  to  observe  that  Babylon  is  described  2iS  fallen. 
The  Judge  is  not  only  standing  at  the  door :  He  has 
begun  His  work. 

The  words  of  the  third  angel  continue  the  strain 
thus  begun,  and  constitute  the  most  terrible  picture 
of  the  fate  of  the  ungodly  to  be  found  in  Scripture. 
The  eye  shrinks  from  the  spectacle.  The  heart  fails 
with  fear  when  the  words  are  read.  That  wine  of  the 
ivrath  of  God  which  is  mingled  unmixed  in  the  cup  of 
His  anger,  that  wine  into  which,  contrary  to  the  usage 
of  the  time,  no  water,  no  mitigating  element,  has  been 
allowed  to  enter ;  that  torment  with  fire  and  brimstone 
in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in  the  presence  of 
the  Lamb ;  that  smoke  of  their  torment  going  up  unto 
ages  of  ages ;  that  no-rest  day  and  night,  of  so  different 
a  kind  from  the  no-rest  of  which  we  have  read  in 
chap.  iv.  8 — all  present  a  picture  from  which  we  can 
hardly  do  aught  else  than  turn  away  with  trembling. 
Can  this  be  the  Gospel  of  Jesus,  the  Lamb  of  God  ? 
Can  this  be  a  revelation  given  to  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,  and  who  had  entered  so  deeply  into 
his  Master's  spirit  of  tenderness  and  compassion  for 
the  sinner  ? 

I.  Let  us  consider  that  the  words  are  addressed, 
not  directly  to  smners,  but  to  the  Church  of  Christ, 
which  is  safe  from  the  threatened  doom ;  not  to  the 
former  that  they  may  be  led  to  repentance,  but  to  the 
latter  that  through  the  thought  of  what  she  has  escaped 
she    may    be   filled    with   eternal    gratitude    and    joy. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


2.  Let   us    notice    the    degree   to   which   sin    is    here 
supposed  to  have  developed ;  that   it   is    not    the    sin 
of  Mary  in  the  -house  of  Simon,  of  the  penitent  thief, 
of  the  Phih'ppian  gaoler,  or  of  the  publicans  and  harlots 
who    gathered    around   our   Lord  in  the  days    of   His 
flesh    to    listen    to    Him,     but    sin    bold,    determined, 
loved,  and   clung  to  as  the  sinner's  self-chosen  good, 
the  sin  of  sinners  who  will    die   for   sin    as   martyrs 
die  for  Christ  and  holiness.     3.  Let  us  observe  that, 
whatever    the    angel    may    mean,    he    certainly   does 
not  speak   of  never-ending  existence  in  never-ending 
torment,    for    the    words    of    the    original    unhappily 
translated  both  in  the  Authorised  and  Revised  Versions 
*'  for  ever  and  ever "    ought    properly  to  be  rendered 
*'  unto  ages  of  ages  ; "  ^  and,  distinguished  as  they  are 
on   this    occasion    alone   in    the   Apocalypse  from  the 
first  of  these  expressions  by  the  absence  of  the  Greek 
articles,  they  ought  not  to  be  translated  in  the  same 
way.     4.  Let    us    recall  the  strong  figures    of  speech 
in  which    the    inhabitants    of  the    East  were  w^ont  to 
give  utterance    to    their  feehngs,  figures  illustrated  in 
the   present    instance   by    the    mention    of  that    "  fire 
and  brimstone "  which  no  man  will  interpret  literally, 
as   well   as    by   the   language   of    St.    Jude  when    he 
describes    Sodom  and   Gomorrah   as    "an  example  of 
eternal   fire."  ^     5.    Let   us    remember   that   hatred    of 
sin  is  the  correlative    of  love   of  goodness,  and  that 
the   kingdom    of  God    cannot  be   fully  established  in 
the  world  until  sin  has  been  completely  banished  from 
it.     6.  Above  all,  let  us  mark  carefully  the  distinction, 
so  often  forced  upon  us  in  the  writings  of  St.  John, 
between  sinners  in  the  ordinary  sense  and  the  system 

*  They  are  so  rendered  in  the  margin  of  the  Revised  Version. 

*  Jude  7  (margin  of  R.V.). 


xiv.6-20.]  HARVEST  AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD.  251 


of  sin  to  which  other  sinners  cling  in  deadliest  enmity 
to    God    and  righteousness ;   and,    as  we   do    all  this, 
the  words  of  the  third  angel  will  produce  on  us  another 
than    their    first    impression.     So   far   as    the    human 
being  is  before  us  we  shall    be    moved    only  to  com- 
passion and  eagerness   to  save.     But  his  sin,  the  sin 
which  has  mastered  the  Divinely  implanted    elements 
of  his  nature,  which  has  fouled  what  God  made  pure 
and  embittered  what  God  made  sweet,  the  sin  which 
has  subjected  one  created  in  the  nobility  of  the  image 
of  God  to  the  miserable    thraldom    of  the    devil,  the 
sin  the  thought   of  which    we    can    separate,  like  the 
Apostle  Paul,  from  the  ''  I  "  of  man's  true  nature  ^— of 
that  sin  we  can  only  say,  Let  the  wrath    of  God  be 
poured    out    upon    it    unmingled    with    mercy;    let   it 
be  destroyed  with  a  destruction  the  memory  of  which 
shall  last  "unto  ages  of  ages"  and  even  take  its  place 
amidst  the  verities  sustaining  the  throne  of  the  Eternal 
and  securing  the  obedience  and  the  happiness  of  His 
creatures.2     If  a  minister  of  Christ  thinks  that  he  may 
gather    from    this   passage,    or    others    similar   to   it, 
a  commission  to  go  to  sinners  rather  than  to  sin  with 
''  tidings  of  damnation,"  he  mistakes  alike  the  Master 
whom  he  serves  and  the  commission  with  which  he 
has  been  entrusted. 

At  this  point,  after  the  thought  of  that  spirit  of 
allegiance  to  the  beast  which  draws  down  such  terrors 
upon  itself,  and  before  we  reach  the  central  figure  of 
the  whole  movement,  we  have  some  words  of  comfort 
interposed.  The  meaning  of  the  first  part  of  them  is 
similar  to  that  of  chap.  xiii.  10,  and  need  not  be  further 
spoken  of.     The   meaning   of  their  second   part,  con- 

*  Rom.  vii.  2  Comp.  p.   108, 


25*  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION'. 

veying  to  us  the  contents  of  the  "  voice  from  heaven," 
demands  a  moment's  notice.  Blessed,  exclaims  the 
heavenly  voice  (at  the  same  time  prefixing  the  com- 
mand Write),  are  the  dead  ivJiich  die  in  the  Lora  from 
henceforth.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  the  precise  point 
of  time  referred  to  in  the  word  "  henceforth."  If  it 
be  the  moment  of  the  end,  the  moment  of  the  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord,  then  the  promise  must  express  the 
glory  of  the  resurrection.  But,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
fact  that  "resting  from  labours"  is  too  weak  to  bring 
out  the  glory  of  the  resurrection  state,  there  is  at  that 
instant  no  more  time  to  die  in  the  Lord.  The  living 
shall  be  ^'  changed."  It  seems  better,  therefore,  to 
understand  the  words  as  a  voice  of  consolation  running 
throughout  the  whole  Christian  age.  In  the  view  of 
'*  heaven  "  the  lapse  of  time  is  hardly  thought  of.  All 
is  Now.  The  meaning  of  *'  dying  in  the  Lord,"  again, 
must  not  be  regarded  as  equivalent  to  the  Scriptural 
expression  ^'  faUing  asleep  in  Jesus."  Not  the  thought 
of  "  falling  asleep  "  in  a  quiet  Christian  home,  but  of 
"  dying  "  as  Jesus  died,  is  in  the  Seer's  mind  ;  and  not 
the  thought  of  rest  from  work,  but  of  rest  from  toils,  an 
entirely  different  and  far  stronger  word,  is  in  the  answer 
of  the  Spirit.  Thus  are  believers  blessed.  Their  fife 
is  a  life  of  toil,  of  hardship,  of  trial,  of  persecution,  of 
death ;  but  when  they  die,  they  *'  rest."  And  their 
''  works  " — that  is,  their  Christian  character  and  life — 
are  not  lost.  They  follow  with  them,  and  meet  them 
again  in  the  heavenly  mansions  as  the  record  of  all  that 
they  have  done  and  suffered  in  their  Master's  cause. 

The  first  three  angels  have  accomplished  their  task. 
We  now  reach  the  fourth  and  chief  member  in  this 
series  of  seven,  and  meet  with  the  Lord  as  He  comes 
to  take  His  people  to  Himself,  that  where  He  is,  there 


xiv.6-2o.]  HARVEST  AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD.   253 

they  may  also  be.  That  it  is  the  Lord  who  is  here 
before  us  we  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt.  The  desig- 
nation like  unto  a  Son  of  man,  the  same  as  that  of 
chap.  i.  13,  itself  establishes  the  fact,  which  is  again 
confirmed  by  the  mention  of  the  white  cloud  and  of 
the  golden  crown.  In  His  hand  He  holds  a  sharp 
sickle,  with  which  to  reap.  Thus  also  in  different 
passages  of  the  New  Testament  our  Lord  speaks  01 
the  harvest  of  His  people,  although  in  them  He  acts 
by  His  angels  and  Apostles.^  In  one  passage  of  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John  He  acts  by  Himself.^  The  glorified 
Redeemer  is  thus  ready  to  complete  His  work. 

Another  angel  now  appears,  the  first  of  the  second 
series  of  three,  and  styled  "another,"  not  by  com- 
parison with  Him  who  sat  on  the  white  cloud,  and 
who  is  exalted  far  above  all  angels,  but  by  comparison 
with  the  angels  previously  spoken  of  at  the  sixth, 
eighth,  and  ninth  verses  of  the  chapter.  This  angel  is 
said  to  come  out  from  the  temple — that  is,  out  of  the  naos, 
out  of  the  innermost  shrine  of  the  temple — and  the 
notice  is  important,  for  it  shows  that  he  comes  from 
the  immediate  presence  of  God,  and  is  a  messenger 
from  Him.  Therefore  it  is  that  he  can  say  to  the  Son, 
Send  forth  Thy  sickle,  and  reap.  "  The  Son  can  do 
nothing  of  Himself,  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father 
doing."  ^  Until  the  Father  gives  the  sign  His  "  hour  is 
not  yet  come ; "  and  more  especially  of  the  hour  now- 
arrived  Jesus  had  Himself  said,  "  But  of  that  day  or 
that  hour  knoweth  no  one,  not  even  the  angels  in 
heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father."*  The  da}^, 
the  hour,  the  moment,  has  now  arrived  ;  and,  as  usual 
in  this  book,  the  message  of  the  Father  is  communicated 

'   Matt.  ix.  37,  38;  xiii.  29,  30.  *  John  v.  19. 

*  John  xiv.  3.  ■*  Mark  xiii.  32. 


254  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

by  an  angel.  The  intimation  that  the  hour  is  come  is 
grounded  upon  the  fact  that  the  harvest  about  to  be 
gathered  in  is  jiiUy  ripe.  The  Revised  Version  trans- 
lates "  overripe ; "  but  the  translation,  though  Hteral,  is 
unhappy,  and  so  far  false  as  it  unquestionably  suggests 
a  false  idea.  God's  time  for  working  is  alwa3^s  right, 
not  wrong ;  and  it  is  perfectly  legitimate  to  understand 
the  word  of  the  original  as  meaning  simply  dry,  hard, 
the  soft  juices  of  its  ripening  state  absorbed,  and  the 
time  of  its  firmness  come.-^  Thus  summoned  by  the 
message  of  the  Father  to  the  work,  the  Son  enters  upon 
it  without  delay.  ^'  As  He  hears,  He  judges."  ^  He 
that  sat  on  the  cloud  cast  His  sickle  upon  the  earth;  and 
the  earth  was  reaped. 

The  second  angel  of  the  second  group  of  three  next 
appears,  having,  like  Him  that  sat  upon  the  cloud,  ''  a 
sharp  sickle ; "  and  he  too  waits  for  the  summons  to 
use  it. 

This  summons  is  given  by  the  third  angel  of  the 
second  group,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  caiue  out  from 
the  altar,  he  that  hath  power  over  fire.  The  altar  of  this 
verse  must  be  that  already  spoken  of  in  chap.  viii.  3, 
where  we  were  told  that  "  another  angel  came  and 
stood  over  the  altar,  having  a  golden  censer,"  an  altar 
which  we  have  been  led  to  identify  with  the  brazen 
altar  of  chap.  v.  9,  beneath  which  were  found  the  souls 
of  the  Old  Testament  saints ;  and  the  "  fire "  over 
which  this  angel  has  power  must  be  the  ''fire"  of 
chap.  viii.  5,  the  fire  taken  from  that  altar  to  kindle  the 
incense  of  the  prayers  of  the  saints.  The  angel  is  thus 
a  messenger  of  judgment,  about  to  command  a  final 
and  full  .answer  to    be  given   to  the  prayer   that  the 

^  Comp.  the  "dried  up  "  of  the  margin  of  the  Revised  Version. 
*  John  V.  30, 


xiv.6-20.]  HARVEST  AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD.  255 

Almighty  will  finish  His  work  and  vindicate  His  cause. 
To  this  character,  accordingly,  his  message  corresponds, 
for  he  called  with  a  great  voice  to  him  (that  is,  to  the 
second  angel)  that  had  the  sharp  sickle,  saying,  Send  forth 
thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the 
earth;  for  her  bunches  of  grapes  are  ripe.  A  vintage, 
not  a  harvest  of  grain,  is  here  before  us ;  and  it  is 
impossible  to  doubt  that  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  Seer  to 
draw  a  broad  line  of  distinction  betv/een  the  two.  The 
latter  is  the  harvest  of  the  good  ;  the  former  is  the 
vintage  of  the  evil  :  and  the  propriety  of  the  figure 
thus  used  for  the  evil  is  easily  perceived  when  we 
remember  that  grapes  were  gathered  to  be  trodden  in 
the  winefat,  and  that  the  juice  when  trodden  out  had 
the  colour  of  blood.  The  figure  was  indeed  one 
already  familiar  to  the  prophets :  ''  Let  the  nations 
bestir  themselves,  and  come  up  to  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat"  (that  is,  The  Lord  judges):  ''for  there  will 
I  sit  to  judge  all  the  nations  round  about.  Put  ye  in  the 
sickle,  for  the  vintage  is  ripe :  come,  tread  ye ;  for  the 
winepress  is  full,  the  fats  overflow ;  for  their  wicked- 
ness is  great ;"  ^  "Wherefore  art  Thou  red  in  Thine 
apparel,  and  Thy  garments  like  him  that  treadeth  in 
the  winefat  ?  I  have  trodden  the  winepress  alone  ;  and 
of  the  people  there  was  no  man  with  Me  :  yea,  I  trod 
them  in  Mine  anger,  and  trampled  them  in  My  fury ; 
and  their  life-blood  is  sprinkled  upon  My  garments,  and 
I  have  stained  all  My  raiment.  For  the  day  of  ven- 
geance is  in  Mine  heart,  and  My  year  of  redemption  is 
come."  ^  The  figure  is  here  employed  in  a  similar 
manner,  for  the  angel  gathered  the  vine  (not  *'  the 
vintage,"  the  whole  vine  being  plucked  up  by  the  roots) 

*  Joel  iii.  12,  13.  "^  Isa.  1  iii.  2-4, 


256  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  winepress,  the  great  wine- 
press, of  the  wrath  of  God.  And  the  winepress  was 
trodden  without  the  city,  and  there  came  out  blood  from 
the  winepress,  even  unto  the  bridles  of  the  horses,  as  far 
as  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  furlongs.  In  these 
words  we  have  undoubtedly  the  judgment  of  the 
wicked,  and  the  last  portion  of  them  alone  need  detain 
us  for  a  moment. 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  statement  that  the  sea 
of  'blood  thus  created  by  the  slaughter  spoken  of 
reached  ''  even  unto  the  bridles  of  the  horses  "  ?  The 
horses  are  those  of  chap.  xix.  11-16,  where  we  have 
again  a  description  of  the  final  victory  of  Christ  over 
all  His  enemies,  and  where  it  is  again  said  of  Him 
that  "  He  treadeth  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  of 
the  wrath  of  Almighty  God/'  ^  The  same  winepress 
W'hich  meets  us  here  meets  us  there.  The  battle  and 
the  victory  are  the  same ;  and  the  horses  here  are 
therefore  those  upon  which  He  that  is  called  Faithful 
and  True,  toget'ier  with  His  armies  that  are  in  heaven, 
rides  forth  to  conquest.  The  mention  of  "  the  bridles  " 
of  the  horses  is  more  uncertain  and  more  difficult  to 
explain,  but  one  passage  of  the  Old  Testament  helps 
us.  In  speaking  of  the  glories  of  the  latter  day,  the 
prophet  Zechariah  says,  "  In  that  day  shall  there  be 
upon  the  bells  of  the  horses  (the  bells  strung  along  the 
bridles)  Holy  unto  the  Lord."  ^  The  sea  of  blood 
reached  to,  but  could  not  be  allowed  to  touch,  these 
sacred  words. 

2.  What  is  meant  by  the  space  of  "  a  thousand  and 
six  hundred  furlongs,*'  over  which  the  sea  extended  ? 
To  resolv.e  it  simply  into  a  large  space  is  at  variance 

Ver.  15  *  Zech.  xiv.  20. 


xiv.6-20.]  HARVEST  AND  VINTAGE  OF  THE  WORLD.  257 


with  the  spirit  of  the  Apocalypse  ;  and  to  imagine  that  it 
marks  the  extent  of  the  Holy  Land  from  Dan  to  Beer- 
sheba  is  both  to  introduce  an  incorrect  calculation  and 
to  forget  who  constitute  the  hosts  of  wickedness  that 
had  been  engaged  in  the  battle.  These  were  not  the 
inhabitants  of  Palestine  only,  but  of  ^^  the  earth,"  three 
times  mentioned  in  the  description.  They  were  "  all 
the  nations "  spoken  of  by  the  second  angel  of  the 
first  group,  all  that  worship  the  beast  and  his  image 
and  receive  a  mark  on  their  forehead  or  their  hand, 
referred  to  by  the  third  angel  of  the  same  group.  They 
are  thus  the  wicked  gathered  from  every  corner  of 
the  earth.  With  this  idea  the  figures  1,600  agree — 
four,  the  number  of  the  world,  multiplied  by  itself 
to  express  intensity,  and  then  by  a  hundred,  the 
number  so  often  associated  with  evil  in  this  book. 
Whether  ''  furlongs,"  literally  "  stadia,"  are  chosen 
as  the  measure  of  space  because,  as  suggested  by 
Cornelius  a  Lapide,  the  arena  or  circus  in  which  the 
martyrs  suffered  was  called  "  The  Stadium,"^  it  may  be 
vain  to  conjecture.  Enough  that  the  sixteen  hundred 
furlongs  represent  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  upon 
which  the  wicked  "  sit "  at  ease,  the  universal  efficacy 
of  the  sickle  by  which  they  are  gathered  to  their  doom. 
One  other  point  ought  to  be  more  particularly  noticed 
before  we  close  the  consideration  of  this  chapter.  The 
harvest  of  the  good  is  gathered  in  by  the  Lord  Him- 
self, that  of  the  wicked  by  His  angel.  The  same  lesson 
appears  to  be  read  in  the  parables  of  the  tares  and 
of  the  drawnet.  In  the  former  (although  allusions  in 
each  parable  may  seem  to  imply  that  angels  take  part 
in    both    acts)    it    is    said    that     "  at    the    end    of  the 

'  Comp.  I  Cor,  ix.  24. 

17 


258  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

world  the  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  His  angels, 
and  they  shall  gather  out  of  His  kingdom  all  things 
that  cause  stumbling,  and  them  that  do  iniquity."  ^  In 
the  latter  we  read,  "So  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  the 
world  :  the  angels  shall  come  forth,  and  sever  the 
wicked  from  among  the  righteous,  and  shall  cast  them 
into  the  furnace  of  fire."  ^  In  like  manner  here.  The 
Son  of  man  Himself  gathers  His  own  to  their  eternal 
rest.  It  is  an  angel,  though  commissioned  by  Him, 
who  gathers  the  wicked  to  their  fate.  "  And  is  there 
not  a  beauty  and  tenderness  in  this  contrast  ?  It  is  as 
though  that  Son  of  man  and  Son  of  God  who  is  the 
Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  the  Judge  alike  of  the 
righteous  and  of  the  wicked,  loved  one  half  of  His 
office,  and  loved  not  the  other.  It  is  as  though  He 
cherished  as  His  own  prerogative  the  harvest  of  the 
earth,  and  were  glad  to  delegate  to  other  hands  the 
vintage.  It  is  as  though  the  ministry  of  mercy  were 
His  chosen  office,  and  the  ministry  of  wrath  His  stern 
necessity.  One  like  unto  the  Son  of  man  puts  forth 
the  sickle  of  the  ingathering ;  one  of  created,  though 
it  be  of  angelic,  nature  is  employed  to  send  forth  the 
sickle  of  destruction."  ^ 

1  Matt.  xiii.  41.       *  Matt.  xiii.  49,  50.        ^  Vaughan,  u.  s.,  p.  378. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  SE  VEN  BO  WLS, 
Rev.  XV,,  xvi. 

NOTHING  can  more  clearly  prove  that  the  Revela- 
tion of  St.  John  is  not  written  upon  chronological 
principles  than  the  scenes  to  which  we  are  introduced 
in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  chapters  of  the  book. 
We  have  already  been  taken  to  the  end.  We  have 
seen  in  chap.  xiv.  the  Son  of  man  upon  the  throne  of 
judgment,  the  harvest  of  the  righteous,  and  the  vintage 
of  the  wicked.  Yet  we  are  now  met  by  another  series 
of  visions  setting  before  us  judgments  that  must  take 
place  before  the  final  issue.  This  is  not  chronology ; 
it  is  apocalyptic  vision,  which  again  and  again  turns 
round  the  kaleidoscope  of  the  future,  and  delights  to 
behold  under  different  aspects  the  same  great  principles 
of  the  Almighty's  government,  leading  always  to  the 
same  glorious  results. 

One  other  preliminary  observation  may  be  made. 
The  third  series  of  judgments  does  not  really  begin  till 
we  reach  chap.  xvi.  Chap.  xv.  is  introductory,  and  we 
are  thus  reminded  that  the  series  of  the  Trumpets 
had  a  similar  introduction  in  chap.  viii.  i-6.  It  is  the 
manner  of  St.  John,  who  thus  in  his  Gospel  introduces 
his  account  of  our  Lord's  conversation  with  Nicodemus 
in  chap.  iii.  by  the  last  three  verses  of  chap,  ii.,  which 


26o  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

ought  to  be  connected  with  the  third  chapter;  and  who 
also  introduces  his  narrative  regarding  the  woman  of 
Samaria  b}^  the  first  three  verses  of  chap.  iv. 

To  introduce  chap.  xvi.  is  the  object  of  chap.  xv. 

And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven,  great  and  marvellous,  seven 
angels  having  seven  plagues,  which  are  the  last,  for  in  them  is  finished 
the  wrath  of  God  (>iv.  i). 

The  plagues  about  to  be  spoken  of  are  ^'  the  last," 
and  in  them  the  final  judgments  of  God  upon  evil  are 
contained.  What  they  are,  and  who  are  the  special 
objects  of  them,  will  afterwards  appear.  Meanwhile, 
another  vision  is  presented  to  our  view : — 

And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  glassy  sea  mingled  with  fire;  and  them 
that  come  victorious  out  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  his  image,  and  out  of 
the  number  of  his  name,  standing  upon  the  glassy  sea,  having  harps 
of  God.  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  and 
the  song  of  the  Lamb,  saying.  Great  and  marvellous  are  Thy  works, 
O  Lord  God  the  Almighty;  righteous  and  true  are  Thy  ways.  Thou 
King  of  the  nations.  Who  shall  not  fear,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  Thy 
name?  for  Thou  only  art  holy:  for  all  the  nations  shall  come  and 
worship  before  Thee;  for  Thy  righteous  acts  have  been  made 
manifest  (xv.  2-4). 

It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  glassy  sea  spoken 
of  in  these  words  is  the  same  as  that  already  met  with 
at  chap.  iv.  6.  Yet  again,  as  in  the  case  of  the  hundred 
and  forty  and  four  thousand  of  chap.  xiv.  I,  the  definite 
article  is  wanting ;  and,  in  all  probability,  for  the  same 
reason.  The  aspect  in  which  the  object  is  viewed, 
though  not  the  object  itself,  is  different.  The  glassy 
sea  is  here  mingled  with  fire^  a  point  of  which  no 
mention  was  made  in  chap.  iv.  The  difference  may 
be  explained  if  we  remember  that  the  "fire"  spoken 
of  can  only  be  that  of  the  judgments  by  which  the 
Almighty  vindicates  His  cause,  or  of  the  trials  by 
which  He   purifies   His    people.     As   these,  therefore. 


XV.  2-4-]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  261 

now  stand  upon  the  sea,  delivered  from  every  adver- 
sary, we  are  reminded  of  the  troubles  which  by  Divine 
grace  they  have  been  enabled  to  surmount.  It  was 
otherwise  in  chap.  iv.  No  persons  were  there  con- 
nected with  the  sea,  and  it  stretched  away,  clear  as 
crystal,  before  Him  all  whose  dealings  with  His  people 
are  "  right."  The  sea  itself  is  in  both  cases  the  same, 
but  in  the  latter  it  is  beheld  from  the  Divine  point  of 
view,  in  the  former  from  the  human. 

The  vision  as  a  whole  takes  us  back  to  the  exodus  of 
Israel  from  Egypt,  and  hence  the  mention  of  the  song  of 
Moses,  the  servant  of  God.  The  enemies  of  the  Church 
have  their  type  in  Pharaoh  and  his  host  as  they  pursue 
Israel  across  the  sands  which  had  been  laid  bare  for 
the  passage  of  the  chosen  people ;  the  waters,  driven 
back  for  a  time,  return  to  their  ancient  bed ;  the 
hostile  force,  with  its  chariots  and  its  chosen  captains, 
"  goes  down  into  the  depths  like  a  stone  ;  "  and  Israel 
raises  its  song  of  victory,  "  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord, 
for  He  hath  triumphed  gloriously,  the  horse  and  his 
rider  hath  He  thrown  into  the  sea."^ 

The  song  now  sung,  however,  is  not  that  of  Moses 
only,  the  great  centre  of  the  Old  Testament  Dispen- 
sation ;  it  is  also  the  Song  of  the  Lamb,  the  centre  and 
the  sum  of  the  New  Testament.  Both  Dispensations 
are  in  the  Seer's  thoughts,  and  in  the  number  of  those 
who  sing  are  included  the  saints  of  each,  the  members 
of  the  one  Universal  Church.  No  disciple  of  Jesus 
either  before  or  after  His  first  coming  is  omitted. 
Every  one  is  there  from  whose  hands  the  bonds  of 
the  world  have  fallen  off,  and  who  has  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  followers  of  the  Lam^b.     Hence  also  the  song 

*  Exod.  XV.  I. 


262  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

is  wider  in  its  range  than  that  by  which  the  thought 
of  it  appears  to  have  been  suggested.  It  celebrates 
the  great  and  maroeUoits  works  of  the  Afmighty  in 
general.  It  speaks  of  Him  as  the  King  of  the  nations^ 
that  is,  as  the  King  who  subdues  the  nations  under 
Him.  It  rejoices  in  the  fact  that  His  righteous  acts 
have  been  made  manifest.  And  it  anticipates  the  time 
when  all  the  nations  shall  come  and  worship  before  Him, 
shall  bow  themselves  at  His  feet,  and  shall  acknowledge 
that  His  judgments  against  sin  are  not  only  just  in 
themselves,  but  are  allowed  to  be  so  by  the  very 
persons  on  whom  they  fall. 
A  second  vision  follows  : — 

And  after  these  things  I  saw,  and  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of 
the  testimony  in  heaven  was  opened  ;  and  there  came  out  from  the 
temple  the  seven  angels  that  had  the  seven  plagues,  clothed  with  a 
precious  stone  pure  and  lustrous,  and  girt  about  their  breasts  with 
golden  girdles.  And  one  of  the  four  living  creatures  gave  unto  the 
seven  angels  seven  golden  bowls  full  of  the  wrath  of  God,  who  liveth 
for  ever  and  ever.  And  the  temple  was  filled  with  smoke  from  the 
glory  of  God,  and  from  His  power :  and  none  was  able  to  enter  into 
the  temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  should  be 
finished  (xv.  5-8). 

The  temple  spoken  of  is,  as  upon  every  occasion 
when  the  word  is  used,  the  shrine  or  innermost  sanc- 
tuary, the  Holy  of  holies,  the  peculiar  dwelling-place 
of  the  Most  High ;  so  that  the  seven  angels  with  the 
seven  last  plagues  come  from  God's  immediate  presence. 
But  this  sanctuary  is  now  beheld  in  a  different  light 
from  that  in  which  it  was  seen  in  chap.  xi.  19.  There 
it  contained  the  ark  of  God's  covenant,  the  symbol  of 
His  grace.  Here  the  eye  is  directed  to  the  testimony^ 
to  the  two  tables  of  the  law  which  were  kept  in  the 
ark,  and 'were  God's  witness  both  to  the  holiness  of 
His  character  and  the  justice  of  His  government.     The 


XV.  5-8.]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  263 

giving  of  the  law  then  was  in  the  Seer's  mind,  and  that 
fact  will  explain  the  allusions  to  the  Old  Testament 
found  in  his  words.  The  description  of  the  seven 
angels,  as  clothed  with  a  precious  stone  pure  and  lustrous 
(not  with  "fine  linen"  as  in  the  Authorised  Version) 
may  be  explained,  when  we  attend  to  the  second  cha- 
racteristic of  their  appearance,  girt  about  their  breasts 
with  golden  girdles.  These  words  take  us  back  to  the 
vision  of  the  Son  of  man  in  chap,  i.,  where  the  same 
expression  occurs,  and  where  we  have  already  seen 
that  it  points  to  the  priests  of  Israel,  when  engaged  in 
the  active  service  of  the  sanctuary.  The  angels  now 
spoken  of  are  thus  priestly  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Lord  Himself,  who  is  not  merely  the  Priest  but  also 
the  High  Priest  of  His  people.  The  high  priest,  how- 
ever, wore  a  jewelled  breastplate ;  and  in  correspon- 
dence with  the  nobler  functions  of  the  New  Testament 
priesthood,  these  jewels  are  now  extended  to  the  whole 
clothing  of  the  angels  spoken  of.  A  similar  figure  for 
the  clothing  of  the  glorified  Church  meets  us  in  the 
prophecies  of  Isaiah:  "I  will  greatly  rejoice  in  the 
Lord,  my  soul  shall  be  joyful  in  my  God  ;  for  He  hath 
clothed  me  with  the  garments  of  salvation,  He  hath 
covered  me  with  the  robe  of  righteousness  ;  as  a  bride- 
groom decketh  himself  (the  margin  of  the  Revised 
Version  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  meaning 
of  the  original  is  "  decketh  himself  as  a  priest ")  with 
a  garland,  and  as  a  bride  adorneth  herself  with  her 
jewels  ; "  ^  while  the  same  figure,  though  applied  to  Tyre, 
is  employed  by  Ezekiel :  ''  Every  precious  stone  was 
thy  covering."^  The  seven  angels  are  thus  about  to 
engage  in  a  priestly  work. 


Isa.  Ixi.  10.  2  Ezek. 


264  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

This  work  is  pointed  out  to  them  by  one  of  the  four 
living  creatures,  the  representatives  of  redeemed  creation. 
All  creation  owns  the  propriety  of  the  judgments  now 
about  to  be  fulfilled.^ 

These  judgments  are  contained,  not  in  seven  "  vials," 
as  in  the  Authorised  Version,  but  in  seven  golden  boivls, 
vessels  probably  of  a  saucer  shape,  of  no  great  depth, 
and  their  circumference  largest  at  the  rim.  They  are 
the  "  basins  "  of  the  Old  Testament,  used  for  carrying 
into  the  sanctuary  the  incense  which  had  been  lighted 
by  fire  from  the  brazen  altar.  They  were  thus  much 
better  adapted  than  ''  vials  "  for  the  execution  of  a  final 
judgment.  Their  contents  could  be  poured  out  at  once 
and  suddenly. 

The  bowls  have  been  delivered  to  the  angels,  and 
nothing  remains  but  to  pour  them  out.  The  moment 
is  one  of  terror,  and  it  is  fitting  that  even  all  outward 
things  shall  correspond.  Smoke,  therefore,  filled  the 
sanctuary,  and  none  was  able  to  enter  into  it.  Thus, 
when  Moses  reared  up  the  tabernacle,  and  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  filled  it,  '*  Moses  was  not  able  to  enter  into  the 
tent  of  meeting  :  "  ^  thus,  when  Splomon  dedicated  the 
temple  and  the  cloud  filled  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
^'  The  priests  could  not  stand  to  minister  by  reason  of 
the  cloud."  ^  Thus,  when  Isaiah  beheld  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  in  His  temple,  and  heard  the  cry  of  the  Seraphim, 
"  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts,"  "  the  founda- 
tions of  the  thresholds  were  moved  at  the  voice  of  him 
that  cried,  and  the  house  was  filled  with  smoke  ; "  *  and 
thus,  above  all,  when  the  law  was  given,  "  Mount 
Sinai  was  altogether  on  smoke,  because  the  Lord  de- 
scended upon  it  in  fire  :  and  the  smoke  thereof  ascended 

'Comp.  chap.  vi.  »  I  Kings  viii.  II. 

2  Exod.  xl.  35.  *  Isa.  vi.  4. 


xvi.  1-9.]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  265 

as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace,  and  the  whole  mount  quaked 
greatly."  ^ 

All  due  preparation  having  been  made,  the  Seven 
Bowls  are  now  poured  out  in  rapid  and  uninterrupted 
succession.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Seals  and  of  the 
Trumpets,  they  are  divided  into  two  groups  of  four 
and  three ;  and  those  of  the  first  group  may  be  taken 
together : — 

And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple,  saying  to  the  seven 
angels,  Go  ye,  and  pour  out  the  seven  bowls  of  the  wrath  of  God  into 
the  earth.  And  the  first  went,  and  poured  out  his  bowl  into  the 
earth  ;  and  it  became  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore  upon  the  men 
which  had  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  which  worshipped  his  image. 
And  the  second  poured  out  his  bowl  into  the  sea ;  and  it  became 
blood  as  of  a  dead  man,  and  every  living  soul  died,  even  the  things 
that  were  in  the  sea.  And  the  third  poured  out  his  bowl  into  the 
rivers  and  the  fountains  of  the  waters ;  and  it  became  blood.  And  I 
heard  the  angel  of  the  waters  saying,  Righteous  art  Thou  which  art 
and  which  wast,  Thou  holy  one,  because  Thou  didst  thus  judge  :  for 
they  poured  out  the  blood  of  saints  and  prophets,  and  blood  hast  Thou 
given  them  to  drink  :  they  are  worthy.  And  I  heard  the  altar  saying, 
Yea,  O  Lord,  God,  the  Almighty,  true  and  righteous  are  Thy  judgments. 
And  the  fourth  poured  out  his  bowl  upon  the  sun  ;  and  it  was  given 
unto  it  to  scorch  men  with  fire.  And  men  were  scorched  with  great 
heat :  and  they  blasphemed  the  name  of  the  God  which  hath  the  power 
over  these  plagues ;  and  they  repented  not  to  give  Him  glory  (xvi.  1-9). 

Upon  the  particulars  of  these  plagues  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  dwell.  No  attempt  to  determine  the  special 
meaning  of  the  objects  thus  visited  by  the  wrath  of 
God — the  land,  the  sea,  the  rivers  and  fountains  of 
the  waters,  and  the  sun — has  yet  been,  or  is  ever 
perhaps  likely  to  be,  successful ;  and  the  general  effect 
alone  appears  to  be  important.  The  chief  point  claiming 
attention  is  the  singular  closeness  of  the  parallelism 
between  them  and  the  Trumpet  plagues,  a  parallelism 
which  extends  also    to    the    fifth,    sixth,  and    seventh 

*  Exod.  xix,  18;   Heb.  xii.  18. 


266  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

members  of  the  series.  Close,  however,  as  it  is,  there 
is  also  a  marked  climax  in  the  later  plagues,  corre- 
sponding to  the  fact  that  they  are  "  the  last,"  and  that 
in  them  "the  wrath  of  God  is  finished."^  Thus  the 
first  Trumpet  affects  only  the  third  part  of  the  earth, 
and  the  trees,  and  all  green  grass  :  the  first  Bowl  affects 
men}  Under  the  second  Trumpet  the  "  third  part " 
of  the  sea  becomes  blood,  and  the  third  part  of  the 
creatures  which  are  in  the  sea  die,  and  the  third  part  of 
the  ships  are  destroyed  :  under  the  second  Bowl,  the 
*'  third  part "  of  the  sea  is  exchanged  for  the  whole  ;  the 
blood  assumes  its  most  offensive  form,  blood  as  of  a 
dead  man;  and  not  the  third  part  only,  but  every  living 
sold  died,  even  the  things  that  were  in  the  seaT  ^  Under 
the  third  Trumpet  the  great  star  falls  only  upon  the 
**  third  part"  of  the  rivers  and  fountains,  and  they 
become  wormwood :  under  the  third  Bowl  all  the  waters 
are  visited  by  the  plague,  and  they  become  blood.* 
Lastly,  under  the  fourth  Trumpet  only  the  "third  part" 
of  sun  and  moon  and  stars  is  smitten  :  under  the 
fourth  Bowl  the  whole  sun  is  affected,  and  it  is  given 
unto  it  to  scorch  men  with  fire^  With  this  climactic 
character  of  the  Bowls  as  compared  vrith  the  Trum.pets 
may  also  be  connected  a  striking  addition  made  to 
the  details  of  the  third  Bowl,  to  which  in  the  Trumpet 
series  there  is  nothing  to  correspond.  The  angel  of  the 
waters,  not  an  angel  to  whom  the  smiting  of  the  waters 
had  been  entrusted,  but  the  waters  themselves  speaking 
through  their  angel,  and  the  altar,  that  is,  the  brazen 

*  Chap,  XV.  I. 

*  Comp.  chap.  viii.  7  and  xvi.  2. 

*  Comp.  chap.  viii.  8,  9,  and  xvi.  3. 

*  Comp.  chap.  viii.  10,  1 1  and  xvi.  4, 
^  Comp.  chap.  viii.  12  and  xvi.  8. 


xvi.  10,  II.]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  267 

altar  of  chap.  vi.  9,  respond  to  the  judgments  executed. 
They  recognise  the  true  and  righteous  character  of 
the  Almighty,  and  they  welcome  this  manifestation 
of  Himself  to  men. 

Another  feature  of  these  Bowls  will  at  once  strike 
the  reader, — their  correspondence  to  some  of  the  plagues 
of  Egypt :  for  in  the  first  we  see  a  repetition,  as  it 
were,  of  that  sixth  plague  by  which  Pharaoh  and  his 
people  were  visited,  when  Moses  sprinkled  ashes  of 
the  furnace  towards  heaven,  and  they  became  ^*  a  boil 
breaking  forth  with  blains  upon  man  and  beast,"^  and 
in  the  second  and  third  a  repetition  of  the  first  plague, 
when  Moses  lifted  up  his  rod  and  smote  the  waters 
that  were  in  the  river,  ''  and  all  the  waters  that  were 
in  the  river  were  turned  to  blood."  ^  The  fourth  Bowl 
reminds  us  of  the  terror  of  the  appearance  of  the  Son 
of  man  in  chap.  i.  16,  when  ^^  His  countenance  was  as 
the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength." 

One  other  characteristic  of  these  plagues  ought  to 
be  noticed.  It  comes  to  view  no  doubt  only  under  the 
fourth,  yet,  as  we  shall  immediately  see,  it  is  not  to  be 
confined  to  it.  The  plagues  had  no  softening  or  con- 
verting power.  On  the  contrary,  as  at  chap.  ix.  20,  21, 
the  impiety  of  the  worshippers  of  the  beast  was  only 
aggravated  by  their  sufferings  ;  and,  instead  of  turning 
to  Him  who  had  power  over  the  plagues,  they  blas- 
phemed His  name. 

From  the  first  group  of  Bowls  we  turn  to  the  second, 
embracing  the  last  three  in  the  series  of  seven  : — 

And  the  fifth  poured  out  his  bowl  upon  the  throne  of  the  beast; 
and  his  kingdom  was  darkened  ;  and  they  gnawed  their  tongues  for 
pain,  and  the3'^  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven  because  of  their  pains 
and  their  sores;  and  they  repented  not  of  their  works  (xvi.  lo,  ll). 

^  Exod.  ix.  10.  2  Exod.  vii.  20. 


268  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

The  transition  from  the  realm  of  nature  to  the 
spiritual  world,  already  marked  at  the  introduction  of 
the  fifth  Seal  and  of  the  fifth  Trumpet,  is  here  again 
observable ;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  sixth  Trumpet, 
the  spiritual  world  alluded  to  is  that  of  the  prince  of 
darkness.  With  darkness  he  is  smitten.  That  there 
is  a  reference  to  the  darkness  which,  at  the  word  of 
Moses,  fell  upon  the  land  of  Egypt  when  visited  by 
its  plagues  can  hardly  be  doubted,  for  the  darkness 
of  that  plague  was  not  ordinary  darkness ;  it  was  ^'  a 
darkness  that  might  be  felt."  ^  More  than  darkness, 
however,  is  alluded  to.  We  are  told  of  their  pains  mid 
of  their  sores.  But  pains  and  sores  are  not  an  effect 
produced  by  darkness.  They  can,  therefore,  be  only 
those  of  the  first  Bowl,  a  conclusion  confirmed  by  the 
use  of  the  word  '^  plagues  "  instead  of  plague.  The 
inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  is  important,  for  we 
thus  learn  that  the  effects  of  any  earlier  Bowl  are  not 
exhausted  before  the  contents  of  one  following  are 
discharged.  Each  Bowl  rather  adds  fresh  punishment 
to  that  of  its  predecessors,  and  all  of  them  go  on 
accumulating  their  terrors  to  the  end.  Nothing  could 
more  clearly  show  how  impossible  it  is  to  interpret 
such  plagues  literally,  and  how  mistaken  is  any  effort 
to  apply  them  to  the  particular  events  of  history. 

The  sixth  Bowl  follows  : —  / 

And  the  sixth  poured  out  his  bowl  upon  the  great  river,  the  river 
Euphrates,  and  the  water  thereof  was  dried  up,  that  the  way  might 
be  made  ready  for  the  kings  that  come  from  the  sun-rising.  And  I 
saw  coming  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet,  three  unclean 
spirits,  as  it  were  frogs :  for  they  are  spirits  of  devils,  working  signs, 
which  go  forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  whole  inhabited  earth,  to  gather 
them  together  unto  the  war  of  the  great  day  of  God,  the  Almighty. 

'  Exod.  X.  21. 


xvi.  1 2- 1 6.]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  269 

(Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth,  and  keepeth 
his  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his  shame.)  And 
they  gathered  them  together  into  the  place  which  is  called  in  Hebrew 
Har-Magedon  (xvi.  12-16). 

Probably  no  part  of  the  Apocalypse  has  received 
more  varied  interpretation  than  the  first  statement  of 
this  Bowl.  Who  are  these  kings  that  come  from  the 
sun-rising  is  the  point  to  be  determined ;  and  the 
answer  usually  given  is,  that  they  are  part  of  the  anti- 
christian  host,  part  of  those  afterwards  spoken  of  as 
the  kings  of  the  whole  inhabited  earth,  before  whom  God 
dries  up  the  Euphrates  in  order  that  they  may  pursue 
an  uninterrupted  march  to  the  spot  on  which  they  are 
to  be  overwhelmed  with  a  final  and  complete  destruc- 
tion. Something  may  certainly  be  said  on  behalf  01 
such  a  view ;  yet  it  is  exposed  to  serious  objections. 

I.  We  have  already  at  chap.  ix.  14,  at  the  sounding 
of  the  sixth  Trumpet,  been  made  acquainted  with  the 
river  Euphrates  ;  and,  so  far  from  being  a  hindrance 
to  the  progress  of  Christ's  enemies,  it  is  rather  the 
symbol  of  their  overflowing  and  destructive  might. 
2.  We  have  also  met  at  chap.  vii.  2  with  the  expres- 
sion ^'  from  the  sun-rising,"  and  it  is  there  applied  to 
the  quarter  from  which  the  angel  comes  by  whom  the 
people  of  God  are  sealed.  In  a  book  so  carefully 
written  as  the  Apocalypse,  it  is  not  easy  to  think  of 
anti-christian  foes  coming  from  a  quarter  described  in 
the  same  terms.  3.  These  kings  ''  from  the  sun-rising  " 
are  not  said  to  be  a  part  of  "  the  kings  of  the  whole 
inhabited  earth "  immediately  afterwards  referred  to. 
They  are  rather  distinguished  from  them.  4.  The 
"preparing  of  the  way"  connects  itself  with  the  thought 
of  Him  whose  way  was  prepared  by  the  coming  of  the 
Baptist.     5.  The  type  of  drying  up   the  waters  of  a 


270  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

river  takes  us  back,  alike  in  the  historical  and  prophetic 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  to  the  means  by  which 
the  Almighty  secures  the  deliverance  of  His  people,  not 
the  destruction  of  His  enemies.  Thus  the  waters  of 
the  Red  Sea  were  dried  up,  not  for  the  overthrow  of 
the  Egyptians,  but  for  the  safety  of  Israel,  and  the  bed 
of  the  river  Jordan  was  dried  up  for  a  similar  purpose. 
Thus,  too,  the  prophet  Isaiah  speaks :  '*  And  the  Lord 
shall  utterly  destroy  the  tongue  of  the  Egyptian  sea, 
and  with  His  scorching  wind  shall  He  shake  His  hand 
over  the  river,  and  shall  smite  it  into  seven  streams, 
and  cause  men  to  march  over  dryshod.  And  there 
shall  be  an  highway  for  the  remnant  of  His  people, 
which  shall  return,  from  Assyria  ;  like  as  there  was  for 
Israel  in  the  day  that  he  came  up  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt."  ^  Again  the  same  prophet  celebrates  the  great 
deeds  of  the  arm  of  the  Lord  in  the  following  words  : 
"  Art  thou  not  it  which  dried  up  the  sea,  the  waters 
of  the  great  deep ;  that  made  the  depths  of  the  sea 
a  way  for  the  redeemed  to  pass  over  ?  "  ^  And,  once 
more,  to  a  similar  effect  the  prophet  Zechariah  :  "  I 
will  bring  them  again  also  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  gather  them  out  of  Assyria.  .  .  .  And  He  shall 
pass  through  the  sea  of  affliction,  and  shall  smite  the 
waves  of  the  sea,  and  all  the  depths  of  the  Nile  shall 
dry  up.  .  .  .  And  I  will  strengthen  them  in  the  Lord  ; 
and  they  shall  walk  up  and  down  in  His  name,  saith 
the  Lord."  ^  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  more.  In  these 
*'  kings  from  the  sun-rising  "  we  have  an  emblem  of  the 
remnant  of  the  Israel  of  God  as  they  return  from  all 
the  places  whither  they  have  been  led  captive,  and  as 
God  makes  their  way  plain  before  them. 

^  Isa.  xi.  15,  16.  2  jsa.  li.  10.  s  Zech.  x.  10-12. 


xvi.  1 2- 1 6.]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  271 

Nor  is  this  all.  In  the  fate  of  these  foes  a  striking 
incident  of  Old  Testament  history  is  repeated,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  led  to  the  destruction  which  awaits 
them.  When  Micaiah  warned  Ahab  of  his  approaching 
fate,  and  told  him  of  the  lying  spirit  by  which  his  own 
prophets  were  urging  him  to  the  battle,  he  said,  ''  I 
saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  His  throne,  and  all  the  host 
of  heaven  standing  by  Him  on  His  right  hand  and  on  ^ 
His  left.  And  the  Lord  said.  Who  shall  entice  Ahab 
that  he  may  go  up  and  fall  at  Ramoth-gilead  ?  And 
one  said  on  this  manner ;  and  another  said  on  that 
manner.  And  there  came  forth  a  spirit,  and  stood 
before  the  Lord,  and  said,  I  will  entice  him.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  him,  Wherewith  ?  And  he  said,  I  will 
go  forth,  and  be  a  lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  his 
prophets.  And  He  said,  Thou  shalt  entice  him,  and 
shalt  prevail  also;  go  forth  and  do  so."^  In  that  inci- 
dent of  Ahab's  reign  is  found  the  type  of  the  three  lying 
spirits  or  demons  w^hich,  like  frogs,  unclean,  noisy,  and 
loquacious,  go  forth  from  the  three  great  enemies  of 
the  Church,  the  dragon,  the  first  beast,  and  the  second 
beast,  now  first  called  the  false  prophet,  that  they  may 
entice  the  ''kings  of  the  whole  inhabited  earth"  to 
their  overthrow.  And  they  succeed.  All  unknowing 
of  what  is  before  them,  proud  of  their  strength,  and 
flushed  with  hope  of  victory,  these  kings  listen  to  the 
demons  and  gather  themselves  together  mtto  the  voar  of 
the  great  day  of  God,  the  Almighty.  It  is  a  supreme 
moment  in  the  history  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world  ; 
and,  before  he  names  the  battlefield  which  shall,  in  its 
very  nam.e,  be  prophetic  of  the  fate  of  the  wicked,  the 
Seer  pauses    to  behold  the  assembled  armies.     Upon 

*  I  Kin£;s  xxii.  19-22. 


272  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  one  side  is  a  little  flock,  but  they  are  all  ^'  kings," 
and  before  them  is  He  by  whom,  like  David  before 
the  host  of  Israel  and  over  against  the  Philistines,  the 
battle  shall  be  fought  and  the  victory  won.  On  the 
other  side  are  the  hosts  of  earth  in  all  their  multitudes, 
gathered  together  by  the  deceitful  promise  of  success. 
The  Seer  hears  the  voice  of  the  Captain  of  salvation. 
Behold  I  come  as  a  thief,  to  break  up  and  to  destroy. 
He  hears  further  the  promise  of  blessing  to  all  who 
are  faithful  to  the  Redeemer's  cause :  and  then,  with 
mind  at  rest  as  to  the  result,  he  names  the  place  where 
the  final  battle  is  to  be  fought,  Har-Mogedon. 

Why  Har-Magedon  ?  There  was,  we  have  every 
reason  to  believe,  no  such  place.  The  name  is  sym- 
bolical. It  is  a  compound  word  derived  from  the 
Hebrew,  and  signifying  the  mountain  of  Megiddo.  We 
are  thus  again  taken  back  to  Old  Testament  history, 
in  which  the  great  plain  of  Megiddo,  the  most  extensive 
in  Palestine,  plays  on  more  than  one  occasion  a  notable 
part.  In  particular,  that  plain  was  famous  for  two 
great  slaughters,  that  of  the  Canaanitish  host  by  Barak, 
celebrated  in  the  song  of  Deborah,^  and  that  in  which 
King  Josiah  fell.^  The  former  is  probably  alluded  to, 
for  the  enemies  of  Israel  were  there  completely  routed. 
For  a  similar  though  still  more  terrible  destruction  the 
hosts  of  evil  are  assembled  at  Har-Magedon.  The 
Seer  thinks  it  enough  to  assemble  them,  and  to  name 
the  place.  He  does  not  need  to  go  further  or  to 
describe  the  victory. 

The  seventh  Bowl  now  follows  : — 

And  the  seventh  poured  out  his  bowl  upon  the  air;  and  there  came 
forth  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple,  from  the  throne,  saying,  It  is 

'  Judges  V.  ^2  Chron.  xxxv,  22. 


xvi.  17-21.]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  273 

done;  and  there  were  lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunders;  and 
there  was  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  was  not  since  there  were  men 
upon  the  earth,  so  great  an  earthquake,  so  mighty.  And  the  great 
city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell  : 
and  Babylon  the  great  was  remembered  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  give 
unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  His  wrath.  And 
every  island  fled  away,  and  the  mountains  were  not  found.  And 
great  hail,  every  stone  about  the  weight  of  a  talent,  cometh  down  out 
of  heaven  upon  men  :  and  men  blasphemed  God  because  of  the  plague 
of  the  hail ;  for  the  plagde  thereof  is  exceeding  great  (xvi.  17-21). 

The  seventh  or  last  Bowl  is  poured  out  into  the  air, 
here  thought  of  as  the  realm  of  that  prince  of  this 
world  who  is  also  "  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air."  ^ 
All  else,  land  and  sea  and  waters  and  sun  and  the 
throne  of  the  beast,  has  now  been  smitten  so  that  evil 
has  only  to  suffer  its  final  blow.  It  has  been  searched 
out  everywhere ;  and  therefore  the  end  may  come. 
That  end  comes,  and  is  spoken  of  in  figures  more 
strongly  coloured  than  those  of  either  the  sixth  Seal  or 
the  seventh  Trumpet.  First  of  all  a  great  voice  is  heard 
out  of  the  (sanctuary  of  the)  temple y  from  the  throne y 
saying,  It  is  done,  God's  plan  is  executed.  His  last 
manifestation  of  Himself  in  judgment  has  been  made. 
This  voice  is  then  accompanied  by  a  more  terrible 
shaking  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  than  we  have  as 
yet  been  called  to  witness,  the  earthquake  in  particular 
being  such  as  was  not  since  there  were  men  upon  the 
earth,  so  great  an  earthquake,  so  mighty. 

Some  of  the  effects  of  the  earthquake  are  next 
spoken  of.  More  especially,  The  great  city  was  divided 
into  three  parts,  and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell.  As  to 
the  meaning  of  "  the  cities  of  the  nations  "  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  They  are  the  strongholds  of  the  world's  sin, 
the   places  from  which  ungodUness  and  impiety  have 

*  Ephcs.  ii.  2. 

18 


274  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

ruled.  Under  the  shaking  of  the  earthquake  they  fall 
in  ruins.  The  first  words  as  to  "  the  great  city  "  must 
be  considered  in  connexion  with  the  words  which 
follow  regarding  Babylon,  and  they  are  more  difficult 
to  interpret.  By  some  it  is  contended  that  the  "  great 
city  "  is  Jerusalem,  by  others  that  it  is  Babylon.  The 
expression  is  one  which  the  Apocalypse  must  itself 
explain,  and  in  seeking  the  explanation  we  must  pro- 
ceed upon  the  principle  that  in  this  book,  as  much  as 
in  any  other  of  the  New  Testament,  the  rules  of  all 
good  writing  are  followed,  and  that  the  meaning  of 
the  same  words  is  not  arbitrarily  changed.  When  this 
rule,  accordingly,  is  observed,  we  find  that  the  epithet  is, 
in  chap.  xi.  8,  distinctly  applied  to  Jerusalem,  the  words 
"  the  great  city,  where  also  their  Lord  was  crucified  '* 
leaving  no  doubt  upon  the  point.  But,  in  chap,  xviii. 
10,  i6,  i8,  19,  21,  the  same  epithet  is  not  less  distinctly 
applied  to  Babylon.  The  only  legitimate  conclusion  is, 
that  there  is  a  sense  in  w^hich  Jerusalem  and  Babylon 
are  one.  This  corresponds  exactly  to  what  we  other- 
wise learn  of  the  light  in  which  the  metropolis  of  Israel 
appeared  to  St.  John.  To  him  as  an  Apostle  of  the 
Lord,  and  during  the  time  that  he  followed  Jesus  in  the 
flesh,  Jerusalem  presented  itself  in  a  twofold  aspect. 
It  was  the  city  of  God's  solemnities,  the  centre  of  the 
old  Divine  theocracy,  the  ^'  holy  city,"  the  "  beloved 
city."  ^  But  it  was  also  the  city  of  ^'  the  Jews,"  the 
city  which  scorned  and  rejected  and  crucified  its  right- 
ful King.  When  in  later  hfe  he  beheld,  in  the  picture 
once  exhibited  around  him  and  graven  upon  his 
memory,  the  type  of  the  future  history  and  fortunes  of 
the  Church,  the  two  Jerusalems  again  rose  before  his 

*  Chap.  xi.  2,  XX.  9. 


xvi.  17-21.]  THE  SEVEN  BOWLS.  275 


view,  the  one  the  emblem  of  all  that  was  most  precious, 
the  other  of  all  that  was  most  repulsive,  in  the  eyes 
both  of  God  and  of  spiritually  enlightened  men.     The 
first  of  these  Jerusalems  is  the  true  Church  of  Christ, 
the   faithful    remnant,    the   Httle    flock  that    knev/  the 
Good  Shepherd's  voice  and  followed  Him.     The  second 
is  the  degenerate  Church,  the  mass  of  those  who  mis- 
interpreted the  aim  and  spirit  of  their  calling,  and  who 
by    their   worldliness    and    sin    ^'crucified    their  Lord 
afresh,  and  put  Him  to  an  open  shame."     In  the  latter 
aspect  Jerusalem  becomes  Babylon.     As  in  chap.  xi.  8 
it  became  ^'  spiritually,"  that  is  mystically,  ''  Sodom  and 
Egypt,"  so  it  becomes  also  the  mystical  Babylon,  par- 
taker of  that  city's  sins,  and  doomed  to  its  fate.     This 
thought  we  shall  find  fully  expanded  in  the  following 
chapter.     The  question  may  indeed   be  asked,  how  it 
comes  to  pass  that,  if  this  representation  be  correct,  we 
should    read,  immediately  after  the  words  now  under 
consideration,  that  Babylon  the  great  ivas  remembered  in 
the  sight  of  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of 
the  fierceness  of  His  wrath.     But  the  answer  is  substan- 
tially contained  in  what  has  been  said.     When  Jeru- 
salem is  first  thought  of  as  "  the  great  city,"  it  is  as  the 
city  of  "  the  Jews,"  as  the  centre  and  essence  of  those 
principles  by  which  spiritual  is  transformed  into  formal 
religion,  and  all  sins  are  permitted  to  hide  and  multiply 
under  the  cloak  of  a  merely  outward  piety.     When  it  is 
next  thought  of  as  Babylon,  the  conception  is  extended 
so    as    to  embrace,   not  a  false  Judaism   only,    but    a 
similar  falseness  in  the  bosom  of  the  universal  Church. 
Just  as  "  the  great  city  where  also  our  Lord  was  cruci- 
fied "  widened  in  chap.  xi.  8  to  the  thought  of  Sodom 
and  Egypt,  so  here  it  widens  to  the  thought  of  Babylon. 
May  it  not  be  added  that  we  have  thus  in  the  mention 


276  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

of  Jerusalem  and  Babylon  a  counterpart  to  the  mention 
in  chap.  xv.  3  of  ''  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb"  ? 
These  two  expressions,  as  we  have  seen,  comprehend  a 
song  of  universal  victory.  Thus  also  the  two  expres- 
sions, "  the  great  city "  and  "  Babylon,"  having  one 
and  the  same  idea  at  their  root,  comprehend  all  who 
in  the  professing  Church  of  the  whole  world  are 
faithless  to  Christian  truth. 

Further  effects  of  the  last  judgment  follow.  -Every 
island  fled  away,  and  the  mountains  were  not  found. 
Effects  similar,  though  not  so  terrible,  had  been  con- 
nected with  the  sixth  Seal.  Mountains  and  islands 
had  then  been  simply  "  moved  out  of  their  places."  * 
Now  they  '*  flee  away."  Similar  effects  will  again  meet 
us,  but  in  an  enhanced  degree.^  As  yet,  while  moun- 
tains and  islands  flee  away,  the  earth  and  the  heavens 
remain.  In  the  last  description  of  the  judgment  of  the 
wicked  the  heavens  and  the  earth  themselves  flee  away 
from  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
no  place  is  found  for  them.  The  climax  in  the  different 
accounts  of  what  is  substantially  the  same  event  cannot 
be  mistaken. 

The  same  climax  appears  in  the  statement  of  the  next 
effect,  the  great  hail,  every  stone  about  the  weight  of  a 
talent,  that  is,  fully  more  than  fifty  pounds.  No  such 
weight  had  been  spoken  of  at  the  close  of  the  seventh 
Trumpet  in  chap.  xi.  19. 

Again,  however,  there  is  no  repentance  and  no  con- 
version. Those  who  suffer  are  the  deliberate  and 
determined  followers  of  the  beast.  As  under  the  fourth 
Bowl,  therefore,  so  under  the  seventh  they  rather 
blaspheme  God  amidst  their  sufferings,  because  of  the 
plague  of  the  hail,  for  the  plague  thereof  is  exceeding  great. 

Chap.  vi.  14.  *  Chap.  xx.  II. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE   BEAST  AND   BABYLOJ^. 
Rev.  xvii, 

AT  the  close  of  chap.  xvi.  we  reached  the  end  of  the 
three  great  series  of  judgments  which  con  ti  ite 
the  chief  contents  of  the  Revelation  of  St.  John, — the 
series  of  the  Seals,  the  Trumpets,  and  the  Bowls.  It 
cannot  surprise  us,  however,  that  at  this  point  other 
visions  of  judgment  are  to  follow.  Already  we  had 
reached  the  end  at  chap.  vi.  17,  and  again  at  chap, 
xi.  18  ;  yet  on  both  occasions  the  same  general  subject 
was  immediately  afterwards  renewed,  and  the  same 
truths  were  again  presented  to  us,  though  in  a  different 
aspect  and  with  heightened  colouring.  We  are  pre- 
pared therefore  to  meet  something  of  the  same  kind 
now.  Yet  it  is  not  the  whole  history  of  that  ''  little 
season"  with  which  the  Apocalypse  deals  that  is 
brought  under  our  notice  in  fresh  and  striking  vision. 
One  great  topic,  the  greatest  that  has  hitherto  been 
spoken  of,  is  selected  for  fuller  treatment, — the  fall  of 
Babylon.  Twice  before  we  have  heard  of  Babylon 
and  of  her  dcom, —  at  chap.  xiv.  8,  when  the  second 
angel  of  the  first  group  gathered  around  the  Lord  as 
He  came  to  judgment  exclaimed,  ''  Fallen,  fallen,  is 
Babylon  the  great,  which  hath  made  all  the  nations  to 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication  ; "  and 


278  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

again  at  chap.  xvi.  19,  when  under  the  seventh  Bowl 
we  were  told  that  "  Babylon  the  great  was  remembered 
in  the  sight  of  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the 
wine  of  the  fierceness  of  His  wrath."  So  much 
importance,  however,  is  attached  by  the  Seer  to  the 
fortunes  of  this  city  that  two  chapters  of  his  book — 
the  seventeenth  and  the  eighteenth — are  devoted  to  the 
more  detailed  descriptions  of  her  and  of  her  fate. 
These  two  chapters  form  one  of  the  most  striking,  if 
at  the  same  time  one  of  tl'ie  most  difficult,  portions  of 
his  book.  We  have  first  to  listen  to  the  language  of 
St.  John;  and,  long  as  the  passage  is,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  take  the  whole  of  chap.  xvii.  at  once  : — 

And  there  came  one  of  the  seven  angels  that  had  the  seven  bowls, 
and  spake  with  me,  saying,  Come  hither;  I  will  show  thee  the  judg- 
ment of  the  great  harlot  that  sitteth  upon  many  waters  :  with  whom 
the  kings  of  the  earth  committed  fornication,  and  they  that  dwell  in 
the  earth  were  made  drunken  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication. 
And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  Spirit  into  a  wilderness :  and  I  saw 
a  woman  sitting  upon  a  scarlet-coloured  beast,  full  of  names  of 
blasphem}'^,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  And  the  woman  was 
arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold  and  precious 
stone  and  pearls,  having  in  her  hand  a  golden  cup  full  of  abomina- 
tions, even  the  unclean  things  of  her  fornication,  and  upon  her 
forehead  a  name  written,  Mystery,  Babylon  the  great,  the  mother 
of  the  harlots  and  of  the  abominations  of  the  earth.  And  I  saw  the 
woman  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of 
the  martyrs  of  Jesus :  and  when  I  saw  her,  I  marvelled  with  a  great 
marvelling.  And  the  angel  said  unto  me,  Wherefore  didst  thou 
marvel?  I  will  tell  thee  the  mytt.ry  of  the  woman,  and  of  the 
beast  that  carricth  her,  which  hath  I  he  seven  heads  and  the  ten 
horns.  The  beast  that  thou  sawest  was,  and  is  not,  and  is  about  to 
come  up  out  of  the  abyss :  and  he  goeth  into  perdition.  And  they 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall  marvel,  they  whose  name  hath  not  been 
written  in  the  book  of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  when 
they  behold  the  beast,  how  that  he  was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  be 
present.  Here  is  the  mind  that  hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads  are 
seven  mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth.  And  they  are  seven 
kings  :  the  five  are  fallen,  the  one  is,  the  other  is  not  yet  come ;  and 


xvii.  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  279 

when  he  comcth,  he  must  continue  a  little  while.  And  the  beast 
that  was,  and  is  not,  is  himself  also  an  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven; 
and  he  gocth  into  perdition.  And  the  ten  horns  that  thou  sawest  are 
len  kings,  which  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet ;  but  they  receive 
authority  as  kings  with  the  beast  for  one  hour.  These  have  one 
mind,  and  they  give  their  power  and  authority  unto  the  beast.  These 
shall  war  against  the  Lamb,  and  the  Lamb  shall  overcome  them  :  for 
He  is  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings  :  and  they  also  shall  overcome 
that  are  with  Him  called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful.  And  he  saith  unto 
me.  The  waters  which  thou  sawest,  where  the  harlot  sitteth,  are 
peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues.  And  the  ten 
horns  which  thou  sawest,  and  the  beast,  these  shall  hate  the  harlot, 
and  shall  make  her  desolate  and  naked,  and  shall  eat  her  flesh,  and 
shall  burn  her  utterly  with  fire.  For  God  did  put  in  their  hearts  to 
do  His  mind,  and  to  come  to  one  mind,  and  to  give  their  kingdom 
unto  the  beast,  until  the  words  of  God  should  be  accomplished.  And 
the  woman  whom  thou  sawest  is  the  great  city,  which  reigneth  over 
the  kings  of  the  earth  (xvii.). 

The  main  questions  connected  with  the  interpretation 
of  this  chapter  are,  V/hat  are  we  to  understand  by  the 
beast  spoken  of,  and  what  by  Babylon  ?  The  Seer 
is  summoned  by  one  of  the  angels  that  had  the  seven 
Bowls  to  behold  a  spectacle  which  fills  him  with  a 
great  marvelling.  Thus  summoned,  he  obeys ;  and  he 
is  immediately  carried  away  into  a  wilderness,  where 
he  sees  a  woman  sitting  upon  a  scarlet-coloured  beast^ 
full  of  names  of  blasphemy,  having  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns. 

I.  What  is  this  beast,  and  what  in  particular  is  his 
relation  to  the  beast  of  chap.  xiii.  ? 

At  first  sight  the  points  of  difference  appear  to  be 
neither  few  nor  unimportant.  The  order  of  the  heads 
and  of  the  horns  is  different,  the  horns  taking  prece- 
dence of  the  heads  in  the  earlier,  the  heads  of  the  horns 
in  the  later,  of  the  two.^  The  first  is  said  to  have  had 
upon  "  his  heads  "  names  of  blasphemy ;  the  second  is 

'  Comp.  chaps,  xiii.  I   and  xvii.  3,  7, 


28o  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

"  full  of"  such  names.  ^  There  are  diadems  on  the  horns 
of  the  former,  but  not  of  the  latter.^  Of  the  first  we 
are  told  that  he  comes  up  "  out  of  the  sea,"  of  the  second 
that  he  is  about  to  come  up  "out  of  the  ab3^ss."^  In 
addition  to  these  particulars,  it  will  be  observed  that 
several  traits  of  the  first  beast  are  not  mentioned  in  con- 
nexion with  the  second.  These  last  points  of  difference 
may  be  easily  set  aside.  They  create  no  inconsistency 
between  the  descriptions  given ;  and  we  have  already 
had  occasion  for  the  remark,  that  it  is  the  manner  of 
the  Seer  to  enlarge  in  one  part  of  his  book  his  account 
of  an  object  also  referred  to  in  another  part.  His 
readers  are  expected  to  combine  the  different  particulars 
in  order  to  form  a  complete  conception  of  the  object. 

The  more  positive  points  of  difference,  again,  may 
be  simply  and  natural^  explained.  In  chap.  xiii.  i 
the  horns  take  precedence  of  the  heads  because  the 
beast  is  beheld  rising  up  out  of  the  sea,  the  horns  in 
this  case  appearing  before  the  heads.  In  the  second 
case,  when  the  beast  is  seen  in  the  wilderness,  the 
order  of  nature  is  preserved.  The  distribution  of  the 
names  of  blasphemy  is  in  all  probability  to  be  accounted 
for  in  a  similar  manner.  At  the  moment  when  the 
Seer  beholds  them  in  chap.  xiii.  his  attention  has  been 
arrested  by  the  heads  of  the  beast,  and  he  has  not  yet 
seen  the  whole  body.  When  he  beholds  them  in  chap, 
xvii.,  the  entire  beast  is  before  him,  and  is  "full  of" 
such  names.  The  presence  of  diadems  upon  the  ten 
horns  in  the  first,  and  their  absence  in  the  second, 
beast  depends  upon  the  consideration  that  it  is  a 
common  method  of  St.  John  to  dwell  upon  an  object 

.     '  Comp.  chaps,  xiii.  I   and  xvii.  3. 

*  Comp.  chaps,  xiii.  I   and  xvii.  3,  12. 

*  Comp.  chaps,  xiii.  I  and  xvii.  8. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  281 

presented  to  him  ideally  before  he  treats  it  historically.^ 
We  know  that  the  ten  horns  are  ten  kings  or  king- 
doms-; and  the  diadem  is  the  appropriate  symbol  of 
royalty.  When  therefore  we  think  of  the  beast  in  his 
ideal  or  ultimate  manifestation  in  the  ten  kings  of 
whom  we  are  shortly  to  read,  we  think  of  the  horns 
as  crowned  with  diadems ;  and  it  is  thus  accordingly 
that  we  see  the  beast  in  chap.  xiii.  On  the  other 
hand,  at  the  point  immediately  before  us  **  the  ten  kings 
have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet;"^  and  the  diadems 
are  wanting.  The  application  of  this  principle  further 
explains  the  difference  between  what  are  apparently 
two  origins  for  these  beasts, — 'Hhe  sea"  and  '*the 
abyss."  The  former  is  mentioned  in  chap,  xiii., 
because  there  we  have  the  beast  before  us  in  himself, 
and  in  the  source  from  which  he  springs.  The  latter 
is  mentioned  in  chap,  xvii.,  because  the  beast  has  now 
reached  a  definite  period  of  his  history  to  which  the 
coming  up  out  of  ''the  abyss"  belongs.  The  ''sea" 
is  his  real  source ;  the  ^'  abyss "  has  been  only  his 
temporary  abode.  The  monster  springs  out  of  the 
sea,  lives,  dies,  goes  into  the  abyss,  rises  from  the 
dead,  is  roused  to  his  last  paroxysm  of  rage,  is 
defeated,  and  passes  into  perdition.  *  This  last  is  his 
history  in  chap,  xvii.,  and  that  history  is  in  perfect 
harmony  with  what  is  stated  of  him  in  chap,  xiii., —  that 
by  nature  he  comes  up  out  of  the  sea. 

While  the  points  of  difference  between  the  beasts  of 
chap.  xiii.  and  chap.  xvii.  may  thus  without  difficulty 
be  reconciled,  the  points  of  agreement  are  such  as  to 
lead  directly  to  the  identification  of  the  two.  Some  of 
these  have  already  come  under  our  notice  in  speaking 

'  Comp.  pp.  75,  199.  3  Chap,  xvii.  12. 

*  Chap.  xvii.  12.  *  Chap.  xvii.  1 1. 


282  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  the  differences.  Others  are  still  more  striking. 
Thus  the  beast  of  chap,  xiii.  is  described  as  the  vice- 
gerent of  the  dragon^ ;  and  the  object  of  the  dragon  is 
to  make  war  upon  the  remnant  of  the  woman's  seed.^ 
When  therefore  we  find  the  beast  of  chap.  xvii. 
engaged  in  the  same  work,^  we  must  either  resort  to 
the  most  unlikely  of  all  conclusions — that  the  dragon 
has  two  vicegerents — or  we  must  admit  that  the  two 
beasts  are  one.  Again,  the  characteristic  of  a  rising 
from  the  dead  is  so  unexpected  and  mysterious  that 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  assign  it  to  two  different 
agencies ;  yet  we  formerly  saw  that  this  characteristic 
belongs  to  the  beast  of  chap,  xiii.,  and  we  shall 
immediately  see  that  it  belongs  also  to  that  of  chap, 
xvii.  Nay  more,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  both  in 
chap.  xiii.  and  in  chap.  xvii.  the  marvelling  of  the 
world  after  the  beast  is  connected  with  his  resurrection 
state.*  This  was  undoubtedly  the  case  in  chap.  xiii. ; 
and  in  the  present  chapter  the  cause  of  the  world's 
astonishment  is  not  less  expressly  said  to  be  its  be- 
holding in  the  beast  how  that  he  zvas,  and  ts  not,  and 
shall  be  present.^  Let  us  add  to  what  has  been  said 
that  the  figures  of  the  Apocalypse  are  the  product  of 
so  rich  and  fertile  an  imagination  that,  had  a  difference 
between  the  two  beasts  been  intended,  it  would,  we 
may  beheve,  have  been  more  distinctly  marked;  and 
the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  the  beast  before  us 
is  that  also  of  the  thirteenth  chapter. 

Turning  then  to  the  beast  as  here  represented,  we 
have  to  note  one  or  two  particulars  regarding  him, 
either  new  or  stated  with  greater  fulness  and  precision 

*  Chap.  xiii.  2.  ^  Chap.  xvii.  14. 

'  Chap.  xii.  17.  *  Comp.  p.  222. 

»  Ver.  8. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  283 

than  before;  whilC;  at  the  same  time,  we  have  the 
explanation  of  the  angel  to  help  us  in  interpreting  the 
vision. 

(i)  The  beast  was,  and  is  not,  and  is  about  to  come 
up  out  of  the  abyss  :  and  he  goeth  into  perdition.  The 
words  are  a  travesty  of  what  we  read  of  the  Son  of 
man  in  chap.  i. :  **  I  am  the  first  and  the  last,  and  the 
living  One ;  and  I  became  dead  :  and,  behold,  I  am 
alive  for  evermore."  ^  An  antichrist  is  before  us,  who 
has  been  slaughtered  unto  death,  and  the  stroke  of 
whose  death  shall  be  healed.^  Still  further  we  seem 
entitled  to  infer  that  when  this  beast  appears  he  shall 
have  the  marks  of  his  death  upon  him.  They  that  dwell 
on  the  earth  shall  marvel  when  they  behold  the  beast, 
how  that  he  was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  be  present.  The 
inference  is  fair  that  there  must  be  something  visible 
upon  him  by  which  these  different  states  may  be 
distinguished.  In  other  words,  the  beast  exhibits  marks 
which  show  that  he  had  both  died  and  passed  through 
death.  He  is  the  counterpart  of  ''  the  Lamb  standing 
as  though  it  had  been  slaughtered."  ^ 

(2)  The  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on  which 
the  woman  sitteth.  And  they  are  seven  kings :  the  five 
are  fallen,  the  one  is,  the  other  is  not  yet  come;  and  when 
he  Cometh,  he  must  continue  a  little  while.  Notwith- 
standing all  that  has  been  said  to  the  contrary  by 
numerous  and  able  expositors,  these  words  cannot  be 
applied  directly  to  any  seven  emperors  of  Rome.  It 
may  be  granted  that  the  Seer  had  the  thought  of  Rome 
sitting  upon  its  seven  hills  in  his  eye  as  one  of  the 
manifestations  of  the  beast,  but  the  whole  tenor  of 
his  language  is  too  wide  and  comprehensive  to  permit 

*  Chap.  i.  18.  2  Comp.  chap.  xiii.  3.  »  Chap.  v.  6. 


284  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  thought  that  the  beast  itself  is  Rome.  Besides 
this,  the  heads  are  spoken  of  as  being  also  "moun- 
tains ; "  and  we  cannot  say  of  any  five  of  the  seven 
hills  of  Rome  that  they  "are  fallen,"  or  of  any  one 
of  them  that  it  is  "  net  yet  come."  Nor  could  even 
any  five  successive  kings  of  Rome  be  described  as 
"fallen,"  for  that  word  denotes  passing  away,  not 
simply  by  death,  but  by  violent  and  conspicuous  over- 
throw ;  ^  and  no  series  of  five  emperors  in  other 
respects  suitable  to  the  circumstances  can  be  mentioned 
some  of  whom  at  least  did  not  die  peaceably  in  their 
beds.  Finally,  the  word  ''kings"  in  the  language  of 
prophecy  denotes,  not  personal  kings,  but  kingdoms.^ 
These  seven  "mountains"  or  seven  "kings,"  therefore, 
are  the  manifestations  of  the  beast  in  successive  eras 
of  oppression  suffered  by  the  people  of  God.  Egypt, 
Assyria,  Babylonia,  Persia,  and  Greece  are  the  first 
five ;  and  they  are  "  fallen  " — fallen  in  the  open  ruin 
which  they  brought  upon  themselves  by  wickedness. 
Rome  is  the  sixth,  and  "it  is"  in  the  Apostle's  days. 
The  seventh  will  come  when  Rome,  beheld  by  the 
Seer  as  on  the  brink  of  destruction,  has  perished, 
and  when  its  mighty  empire  has  been  rent  in  pieces. 
These  pieces  will  then  be  the  ten  horns  which  occupy 
the  place  of  the  seventh  head.  The}^  will  be  even 
more  wicked  and  more  oppressive  to  the  true  followers 
of  Christ  than  the  great  single  empires  which  preceded 
them.  In  them  the  antichristian  might  of  the  beast 
will  culminate.  They  are  "  ten "  in  number.  They 
cover  the  whole  "  earth."  That  universality  of  dominion 
which  was  always  the  beast's  ideal  will  then  become 


'  Comp.  chaps,  vi.    13;  viii.    10;   ix.    I;  xi.    13;    xiv.   8;   xvi.    19; 
xviii.  2. 

2  CoiTip.  Dan.  vii.  17,  23;  Rev.  xviii.  3. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND   BABYLON,  2S5 

his  actual  possession.  They  receive  authority  as  kings 
with  the  beast  for  one  hour;  and  together  with  him 
they  shall  rage  against  the  Lamb.     Hence — 

(3)  And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  is  himself  also 
an  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven.  The  reader  will  notice 
that  the  expression  of  the  eighth  verse  of  the  chapter 
*'  and  is  about  to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss,"  as  also 
another  expression  of  the  same  verse,  ^'and  shall  be 
present,"  are  here  dropped.  We  have  met  with  a 
similar  omission  in  the  case  of  the  Lord  Himself  at 
chap.  xi.  17,  and  the  explanation  now  is  the  same  as 
then.  The  beast  can  no  more  be  thought  of  as  ''about 
to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss,"  because  he  is  viewed  as 
come,  or  as  about  ^'to  be  present,"  because  he  is 
present.  In  other  words,  the  beast  has  attained  the 
highest  point  of  his  history  and  action.  He  has  reached 
a  position  analogous  to  that  of  our  Lord  after  His 
resurrection  and  exaltation,  when  all  authority  was 
given  Him  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  when  He 
began  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  founding  His 
Church,  strengthening  her  for  the  execution  of  her 
mission,  and  perfecting  her  for  her  glorious  future. 
In  like  manner  at  the  time  here  spoken  of  the  beast 
is  at  the  summit  of  his  evil  influence.  In  one  sense 
he  is  the  same  beast  as  he  was  in  Egypt,  in  Assyria, 
in  Babylonia,  in  Persia,  in  Greece,  and  in  Rome.  In 
another  sense  he  is  not  the  same,  for  the  wickedness 
of  all  these  earlier  stages  has  been  concentrated  into 
one.  He  has  ''great  wrath,  knowing  that  he  has  but 
a  short  season."  ^  At  the  last  moment  he  rages  with 
the  keen  and  determined  energy  of  despair.  Thus  he 
may  be  spoken  of  as  "  an  eighth  ;  "  and  thus  he  is  also 

^  Chap.  xii.  12. 


286  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

"  of  the  seven,"  not  one  of  the  seven,  but  the  highest, 
and  fiercest,  and  most  cruel  embodiment  of  them  all. 
Thus  also  he  is  identified  with  the  ''  Little  Horn "  of 
Daniel,  which  has  "  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  man,  and 
a  mouth  speaking  great  things."^  That  Little  Horn 
takes  the  place  of  three  out  of  the  ten  horns  which  are 
plucked  up  by  the  roots  ;  that  is,  of  the  eighth,  ninth, 
and  tenth  horns.  It  is  thus  itself  an  eighth  ;  and  we  have 
already  had  occasion  to  notice  that  in  the  science  of 
numbers  the  number  eight  marks  the  beginning  of  a 
new  life,  with  quickened  and  heightened  powers.  Thus 
also  fresh  light  is  thrown  upon  the  statement  which 
so  closely  follows  the  description  of  the  beast, — that 
he  goetli  into  perdition.  As  in  the  case  of  Belshazzar, 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  of  the  traitor  Judas,  the  instant 
when  he  reaches  the  summit  of  his  guilty  ambition  is 
also  the  instant  of  his  fall. 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  the  meaning  of  the 
"  Babylon  "  spoken  of  in  this  chapter,  it  may  be  well  to 
recall  for  a  moment  the  principle  lying  at  the  bottom 
of  the  exposition  now  given  of  the  "  beast."  That 
principle  is  that  St.  John  sees  in  the  world-power,  or 
power  of  the  world,  the  contrast,  or  travesty,  or  mock- 
ing counterpart  of  the  true  Christ,  of  the  world's  rightful 
King.  The  latter  lived,  died,  was  buried,  rose  from 
the  grave,  and  returned  to  His  Father  to  work  with 
quickened  energy  and  to  enjoy  everlasting  glory  ;  the 
former  lived,  was  brought  to  nought  by  Christ,  was 
plunged  into  the  abyss,  came  up  out  of  the  abyss, 
reached  his  highest  point  of  influence,  and  went  into 
perdition.  Such  is  the  form  in  which  the  Seer's 
visions   take   possession  of  his  mind  ;   and  it  will  be 


'  Dan.  vii.  7,  8. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  287 

seen  that  the  mould  of  thought  is  precisely  the  same 
as  that  of  chap.  xx.  The  fact  that  it  is  so  may  be 
regarded  as  a  proof  that  the  interpretation  yet  to  be 
offered  of  that  chapter  is  correct. 

It  may  be  further  noticed  that  the  beast's  being 
brought  to  nought  and  being  sent  into  the  abyss  takes 
place  under  the  sixth,  or  Roman,  head.  We  know  that 
this  was  actually  the  case,  because  it  was  under  the 
Roman  government  that  our  Lord  gained  His  victory. 
The  history  of  the  beast,  however,  does  not  close  with 
this  defeat.  He  must  rise  again;  and  he  does  this 
as  the  seventh  head,  which  is  associated  with  the  ten 
horns.  In  them  and  "  with "  them  he  assumes  a 
greater  power  than  ever,  gaining  all  the  additional  force 
which  is  connected  with  a  resurrection  life.  The 
objection  may  indeed  be  made  that  such  an  exposition 
is  not  in  correspondence  either  with  the  view  taken  in 
this  commentary  that  the  beast  is  active  from  the  very 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  or  with  those  facts  of 
history  which  show  that,  instead  of  falling,  Rome  con- 
tinued to  exist  for  a  lengthened  period  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Redeemer's  victory. 

But,  as  to  the  first  of  these  difficulties,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  think  that  the  beast  rages  in  his  highest 
and  ultimate  form  from  the  very  instant  when  Jesus 
rose  from  the  dead  and  ascended  to  His  Father.  That 
was  rather  the  moment  of  the  beast's  destruction,  the 
moment  when,  under  the  sixth  head,  he  "  is  and  is  not ; " 
and  a  certain  extent  of  time  must  be  interposed  before 
he  rises  in  his  new,  or  seventh,  head.  The  Seer,  too, 
deals  largely  in  climax ;  and,  although  in  doing  so  he  is 
always  occupied  with  the  climactic  idea  rather  than  with 
the  time  needed  for  its  manifestation,  the  element  of 
time,  if  our  attention  is  called  to  it,  must  be  allowed  its 


28S  7. HE   BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

place.  Now  in  the  development  of  the  beast  there  is 
climax.  In  chap,  xii  7  it  is  said  that  "  the  beast  that 
Cometh  up  out  of  the  abyss  shall  make  war  with  "  the  two 
faithful  witnesses  "  when  they  shall  have  finished  their 
testimony,"  and  this  finishing  of  their  testimony  implies 
time.  Again,  in  chap.  xii.  17  the  increased  wrath  of 
the  dragon  against  the  remnant  of  the  woman's  seed 
appears  to  be  subsequent  to  the  persecution  of  the 
woman  in  the  same  chapter.^  No  doubt  the  thought  of 
the  increased  wrath  of  the  dragon  is  the  main  point, 
but  it  may  be  quite  truly  said  that  some  time  at  least 
is  needed  for  the  increase.  The  view,  therefore,  that  the 
beast  rages  from  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era, 
from  the  moment  when  he  rises  after  his  fall,  or,  in 
other  words,  is  loosed  after  having  been  shut  up  into 
the  abyss,  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  view  that  his 
rage  goes  on  augmenting  until  it  attains  its  culminating 
point. 

The  answer  to  the  second  difficulty  is  to  be  found 
in  the  consideration  that  to  the  Seer  the  whole  Christian 
era  appears  no  more  than  "a  little  season,"  in  which 
events  must  follow  closely  on  one  another,  so  closely 
that  the  time  required  for  their  evolution  passes  almost 
entirely,  if  not  indeed  entirely,  out  of  his  field  of  vision. 
He  has  no  thought  that  Rome  will  last  for  centuries. 
''The  times  or  the  seasons  the  Father  hath  set  within 
His  own  authority."^  The  guilt  of  Rome  is  so  dark 
and  frightful  that  the  Seer  can  fix  his  mind  upon 
nothing  but  that  overthrow  which  shall  be  the  just 
punishment  of  her  crimes.  She  is  not  to  be  doomed ; 
she  is  doomed.  She  is  not  to  perish ;  she  is  perishing. 
Divine    vengeance   has    already    overtaken    her.      Her 

*  Chap.  xii.  13.  *  Acts  i.  7. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  289 

last  hour  is  come  ;  and  the  ten  kings  who  are  to  follow 
her  are  already  upon  their  thrones.  Thus  these  kings 
come  into  immediate  juxtaposition  with  the  beast  in 
that  last  stage  of  his  history  which  had  begun,  but  had 
not  reached  its  greatest  intensity,  before  Rome  is  sup- 
posed to  fall. 

2.  The  second  figure  of  this  chapter  now  meets  us ; 
and  we  have  to  ask.  Who  is  the  woman  that  sits  on 
the  beast  ?  or,  What  is  meant  by  Babylon  ? 

No  more  important  question  can  be  asked  in  con- 
nexion with  the  interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse.  The 
thought  of  Babylon  is  evidently  one  by  which  the 
writer  is  moved  to  a  greater  than  ordinary  degree. 
Twice  already  have  we  had  premonitions  of  her  doom, 
and  that  in  language  which  shows  how  deeply  it  was 
felt.^  In  the  passage  before  us  he  is  awed  by  the 
contemplation  of  her  splendour  and  her  guilt.  And 
in  chap,  xviii.  he  describes  the  lamentation  of  the 
world  over  her  fate  in  language  of  almost  unparalleled 
sublimity  and  pathos.  What  is  Babylon  ?  We  must 
make  up  our  minds  upon  the  point,  or  the  effort  *to 
interpret  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  Reve- 
lation of  St.  John  can  result  in  nothing  but  defeat. 

Very  various  opinions  have  been  entertained  as  to 
the  meaning  of  Babylon,  of  which  the  most  famous 
are  that  the  word  is  a  name  for  papal  Rome,  pagan 
Rome,  or  a  great  world-city  of  the  future  which  shall 
stand  to  the  whole  earth  in  a  relation  similar  to  that 
occupied  by  Rome  towards  the  world  of  its  day.  These 
opinions  cannot  be  discussed  here;  and  no  more  can 
be  attempted  than  to  show,  with  as  much  brevity  as 
possible,  that  by  Babylon  is  to  be  understood  the  de- 


*  Chaps,  xiv.  8;  xvi.  V), 

19 


290  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

generate  Church,  or  that  principle  of  degenerate  rehgion 
which  allies  itself  with  the  world,  and  more  than  all  else 
brings  dishonour  upon  the  name  and  the  cause  of  Christ. 
(l)  Babylon  is  the  representative  of  religious^  not 
civil,  degeneracy  and  wickedness.  She  is  a  harlot,  and 
her  name  is  associated  with  the  most  reckless  and 
unrestrained  fornication.  But  fornication  and  adultery 
are  throughout  the  Old  Testament  the  emblem  of 
religious  degeneracy,  and  not  of  civil  misrule.  In 
numerous  passages  familiar  to  every  reader  of  Scripture 
both  terms  are  employed  to  describe  the  departure  of 
Israel  from  the  worship  of  Jehovah  and  a  holy  life 
to  the  worship  of  idols  and  the  degrading  sensuality 
by  which  such  worship  was  everywhere  accompanied. 
Nor  ought  we  to  imagine  that  adultery,  not  fornication, 
is  the  most  suitable  expression  for  religious  degeneracy. 
In  some  important  respects  the  latter  is  the  more 
suitable  of  the  two.  It  brings  out  more  strongly  the 
ideas  of  playing  the  harlot  with  "  many  lovers"^  and  of 
sinning  for  "hire."^  In  this  sense  then  it  seems 
proper  to  understand  the  charge  of  fornication  brought 
in  so  many  passages  of  the  Apocalypse  against  Babylon. 
Not  in  their  civil,  but  in  their  religious,  aspect  have  the 
kings  of  the  earth  committed  fornication  with  her,  and 
they  that  dwell  on  the  earth  been  made  drunk  with 
the  wine  of  her  fornication.  Her  sin  has  been  that  of 
leading  men  astray  from  the  worship  of  the  true  God, 
and  of  substituting  for  the  purity  and  unworldliness  of 
Christian  living  the  irreligious  and  worldly  spirit  of  the 
"  earth."  To  this  it  may  be  added  that,  had  Babylon 
not  been  the  symbol  of  religious  declension,  she  could 
hardly  hav£  borne  upon  her  forehead  the  term  mystery, 

Jer.  iii.  I,  '  Micah  i.  7^ 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON,  291 

St.  John  could  not  have  used  a  word  connected  only 
with  religious  associations  to  express  anything  but  a 
religious  state  awakening  the  awe,  and  wonder,  and 
perplexity  of  a  religious  mind.  Babylon,  therefore, 
represents  persons  who  are  not  only  sinful,  but  who 
have  fallen  into  sin  by  treachery  to  a  high  and  holy 
standard  formerly  acknowledged  by  them. 

(2)  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  allude  to  a  fact 
which  must  immediately  receive  further  notice, — that 
to  the  eye  of  St.  John  there  is  an  aspect  of  Jerusalem 
different  from  that  in  which  she  is  regarded  as  the  holy 
and  beloved  city  of  God.  Jerusalem  in  that  aspect 
and  Babylon  are  one.  Each  is  "the  great  city,"  and 
the  same  epithet  could  not  be  applied  to  both  were 
they  not  to  be  identified.  Not  only  so.  The  words 
here  used  of  Babylon  lead  us  directly  to  what  our 
Lord  once  said  of  Jerusalem.  ^*  Therefore,"  said  Jesus, 
"  behold,  I  send  unto  you  prophets,  and  wise  men,  and 
scribes  :  some  of  them  shall  ye  kill  and  crucify ;  and 
some  of  them  shall  ye  scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and 
persecute  from  city  to  city  :  that  upon  you  may  come 
all  the  righteous  blood  shed  on  the  earth,  from  the 
blood  of  Abel  the  righteous  unto  the  blood  of  Zachariah 
son  of  Barachiah,  whom  ye  slew  between  the  sanc- 
tuary and  the  altar.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  All  these 
things  shall  come  upon  this  generation."^  Precisely 
similar  to  this  is  the  language  of  the  Seer,  And  I  saw 
the  woman  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jestis. 

It  may  indeed  be  thought  impossible  that  under  any 
circumstances  whatever  St.  John  could  have  applied 
an  epithet  like  that  of  Babylon,  steeped  in  so  many 

^  Matt,  xxiii.  34-36. 


292  I'lIE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

associations  of  lust,  and  bloodshed,  and  oppression,  to 
the  metropolis  of  Israel,  the  city  of  God.  But  in  this 
very  book  he  has  illustrated  the  reverse.  He  has 
already  spoken  of  Jerusalem  as  represented  by  names 
felt  by  a  pious  Jew  to  be  the  most  terrible  of  the  Old 
Testament, — ''Sodom  and  Egypt." ^  The  prophets  before 
him  had  employed  language  no  less  severe.  "  Hear 
the  word  of  the  Lord,"  said  Isaiah,  addressing  the 
inhabitants  of  the  holy  city,  '*  ye  rulers  of  Sodom  ; 
give  ear  unto  the  law  of  our  God,  ye  people  of 
Gomorrah,"^  and  again,  ''How  is  the  faithful  city 
become  an  harlot,  she  that  was  full  of  judgment  ! 
righteousness  lodged  in  her;  but  now  murderers;"^ 
whilst  the  degenerate  metropolis  of  Israel  is  not 
unfrequently  painted  by  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  and 
other  prophets  in  colours  than  which  none  more  dark 
or  repulsive  can  be  conceived. 

In  forming  a  conclusion  upon  this  point,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  bear  in  mind  that  to  the  eye  of  the  faithful  in 
Israel,  and  certainly  of  St.  John,  there  were  two  Jeru- 
salems,  the  one  true,  the  other  false,  to  its  heavenly 
King ;  and  that  in  exact  proportion  to  the  feelings  of 
admiration,  love,  and  devotion  with  which  they  turned 
to  the  one  were  those  of  pain,  indignation,  and  aliena- 
tion with  which  they  turned  from  the  other.  The  latter 
Jerusalem,  the  city  of  "  the  Jews,"  is  that  of  which  the 
Apocalyptist  thinks  when  he  speaks  of  it  as  Babylon ; 
and,  looking  upon  the  city  in  this  aspect  as  he  did,  the 
whole  language  of  the  Old  Testament  fully  justifies  him 
in  applying  to  it  the  opprobrious  name. 

(3)  The  contrast  between  the  new  Jerusalem  and 
Babylon  leads  to  the  same  conclusion.    We  have  already 

»  Chap.  xi.  8.  2  i^a.  i.  10.  ^  Isa.  i.  21 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  293 

more  than  once  had  occasion  to  allude  to  the  principle 
of  antithesis,  or  contrast,  as  affording  an  important  rule 
of  interpretation  in  many  passages  of  this  book.  No- 
where is  it  more  distinctly  marked  or  more  appHcable 
than  in  the  case  before  us.  The  contrast  has  been 
drawn  out  by  a  recent  writer  in  the  following  words  : — - 

''These  prophecies  present  two  broadly  contrasted 
women,  identified  with  two  broadly  contrasted  cities, 
one  reality  being  in  each  case  doubly  represented  :  as  a 
ivoinan  and  as  a  city.  The  harlot  and  Babylon  are  one ; 
the  bride  and  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  are  one. 

''The  two  women  are  contrasted  in  every  particular 
that  is  mentioned  about  them  :  the  one  is  pure  as  purity 
itself,  'made  ready'  and  fit  for  heaven's  unsullied 
holiness,  the  other  foul  as  corruption  could  make  her, 
fit  only  for  the  fires  of  destruction. 

"  The  one  belongs  to  the  Lamb,  who  loves  her  as  the 
bridegroom  loves  the  bride  ;  the  other  is  associated  with  a 
wild  beast,  and  v;ith  the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  ulti- 
mately hate  and  destroy  her. 

"  The  one  is  clothed  with  fine  linen,  and  in  another 
place  is  said  to  be  clothed  with  the  sun  and  crowned  with 
a  coronet  of  stars  :  that  is,  robed  in  Divine  righteous- 
ness and  resplendent  with  heavenly  glory ;  the  other  is 
attired  in  scarlet  and  gold,  in  jewels  and  pearls,  gorgeous 
indeed,  but  with  earthly  splendour  only.  The  one  is 
represented  as  a  chaste  virgin,  espoused  to  Christ;  the 
other  is  mother  of  harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth. 

"  The  one  is  persecuted,  pressed  hard  by  the  dragon, 
driven  into  the  wilderness,  and  well-nigh  overwhelmed  ; 
the  other  is  drunken  with  martyr  blood,  and  seated  on  a 
beast  which  has  received  its  power  from  the  persecuting 
dragon. 

"  The  one  sojourns  in  solitude  in  the  wilderness ;  the 


294  'THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

other   reigns    ^in    the   wilderness'   over  peoples,    and 
nations,  and  kindreds,  and  tongues. 

"The  one  goes  in  with  the  Lamb  to  the  marriage 
supper,  amid  the  glad  hallelujahs;  the  other  is  stripped, 
insulted,  torn,  and  destroyed  by  her  guilty  paramours. 

''We  lose  sight  of  the  bride  amid  the  effulgence  of 
heavenly  glory  and  joy,  and  of  the  harlot  amid  the  gloom 
and  darkness  of  the  smoke  that  '  rose  up  for  ever  and 
ever.'"i 

A  contrast  presented  in  so  many  striking  particulars 
leaves  only  one  conclusion  possible.  The  two  cities 
are  the  counterparts  of  one  another.  But  we  know 
that  by  the  first  is  represented  the  bride,  the  Lamb's 
wife,  or  the  true  Church  of  Christ  as,  separated  from 
the  world,  she  remains  faithful  to  her  Lord,  is  purified 
from  sin,  and  is  made  meet  for  that  eternal  home  into 
which  there  enters  nothing  that  defiles.  What  can  the 
other  be  but  the  representative  of  a  false  and  degenerate 
Church,  of  a  Church  that  has  yielded  to  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  world,  and  has  turned  back  in  heart  from 
the  trials  of  the  wilderness  to  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt  ? 
Every  feature  of  the  description  answers,  although 
with  the  heightened  colour  of  ideal  portraiture,  to  what 
such  a  professing  but  degenerate  Church  becomes, — 
the  pride,  the  show,  the  love  of  luxury,  the  subordin- 
ation of  the  future  to  the  present.  Even  her  very  cruelty 
to  the  poor  saints  of  God  is  drawn  from  actual  reality, 
and  has  been  depicted  upon  many  a  page  of  history. 
With  the  meek  and  lowly  followers  of  Jesus,  whose 
life  is  a  constant  protest  that  the  things  of  time  are 
nothing  in  comparison  with  those  of  eternity,  none  have 
less    sympathy  than   those  who  have  a  name  to  live 

*  Guinness,  The  Approaching  End  of  the  Age^  p.  143. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON,  29S 

while  they  are  dead.  The  world  may  admire,  even 
while  it  cannot  understand,  these  little  ones,  these 
lambs  of  the  flock ;  but  to  those  who  seek  the  life  that 
now  is  by  the  help  of  the  life  that  is  to  come  they 
are  a  perpetual  reproach,  and  they  are  felt  to  be  so. 
Therefore  they  are  persecuted  in  such  manner  and  to 
such  degree  as  the  times  will  tolerate. 

One  other  remark  has  to  be  made  upon  the  identifi- 
cation of  Jerusalem  and  Babylon  by  the  Seer.  It  has 
been  said  that  he  has  one  special  aspect  of  the  metro- 
polis of  Israel  in  his  eye.  Yet  we  are  not  to  suppose 
that  he  confines  himself  to  that  metropolis.  As  on  so 
many  other  occasions,  he  starts  from  what  is  limited 
and  local  only  to  pass  in  thought  to  what  is  unhmited 
and  universal.  His  Jerusalem,  his  Babylon,  is  not  the 
literal  city.  She  is  "  the  great  harlot  that  sitteth  upon 
many  waters ; "  and  "  the  waters  which  thou  sawest," 
says  the  angel  to  the  Seer,  "are  peoples,  and  multi- 
tudes, and  nations,  and  tongues."^  The  fourfold  division 
guides  us,  as  usual,  to  the  thought  of  dominion  over 
the  whole  earth.  Babylon  is  not  the  Jerusalem  only 
of  "  the  Jews."  She  is  the  great  Church  of  God 
throughout  the  world  when  that  Church  becomes 
faithless  to  her  true  Lord  and  King. 

Babylon  then  is  not  pagan  Rome.  No  doubt  seven 
mountains  are  spoken  of  on  which  the  woman  sitteth. 
But  this  was  not  peculiar  to  Rome,  Both  Babylon 
and  Jerusalem  are  also  said  to  have  been  situated  upon 
seven  hills  ;  and  even  if  we  had  before  us,  as  we  cer- 
tainly may  have,  a  distinct  reference  to  Rome,  it  would 
be  only  because  Rome  was  one  of  the  manifestations 
of  the  beast,  and  because  the  cit}^  afforded  a  suitable 
point   of  departure    for   a   wider    survey.      The   very 

'  Chap.  xvii.  15. 


296  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

closing  words  of  the  chapter,  upon  which  so  much 
stress  is  laid  by  those  who  find  the  harlot  in  pagan 
Rome,  negative,  instead  of  justifying,  the  supposition  : 
And  the  woman  whom  thou  sawest  is  the  great  city^  which 
reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Rome  never  pos- 
sessed such  universal  dominion  as  is  here  referred  to. 
She  may  illustrate,  but  she  cannot  exhaust,  that  subtler, 
more  penetrating,  and  more  widespread  spirit  which  is 
in  the  Seer's  view. 

Again,  Babylon  cannot  be  papal  Rome.  As  in  the  last 
case,  there  may  indeed  be  a  most  intimate  connexion 
between  her  and  one  of  the  manifestations  of  Babylon. 
But  it  is  impossible  to  speak  of  the  papal  Church  as 
the  guide,  the  counsellor,  and  the  inspirer  of  anti- 
christian  efforts  to  dethrone  the  Redeemer,  and  to 
substitute  the  world  or  the  devil  in  His  stead.  The 
papal  Church  has  toiled,  and  suffered,  and  died  for 
Christ.     Babylon  never  did  so. 

Nor,  finally,  can  we  think  of  Babylon  as  a  great 
city  of  the  future  which  shall  stand  to  the  kings  and 
kingdoms  of  the  earth  in  a  relation  similar  to  that  in 
which  ancient  Rome  stood  to  the  kings  and  kingdoms 
of  her  day.  Wholly  apart  from  the  impossibility  of  our 
forming  any  clear  conception  of  such  a  city,  the  want 
of  the  religious  or  spiritual  element  is  fatal  to  the  theory. 

One  explanation  alone  seems  to  meet  the  conditions 
of  the  case.  Babylon  is  the  world  in  the  Church.  In 
whatever  section  of  the  Church,  or  in  whatever  age  of 
her  history,  an  unspiritual  and  earthly  element  pre- 
vails, there  is  Babylon. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  two  great  figures  of  this 
chapter  separately.  We  have  still  to  speak  of  their 
relation  to  one  another,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  it 
is  brought  suddenly  and  for  ever  to  a  close. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  297 

This  relation  appears  in  the  words,  /  saw  a  woman 
sitting  upon  a  scarlet-coloured  beast,  and  in  later  words 
of  the  chapter  :  the  beast  that  carrieth  her.  The  woman 
then  is  not  subordinate  to  the  beast,  but  is  rather  his 
controller  and  guide.  And  this  relation  is  precisely 
what  we  should  expect.  The  beast  is  before  us  in  his 
final  stage,  in  that  immediately  preceding  his  own 
destruction.  He  is  no  longer  in  the  form  of  Egypt,  or 
Assyria,  or  Babylonia,  or  Persia,  or  Greece,  or  Rome. 
These  six  forms  of  his  manifestation  have  passed  away. 
The  restrainer  has  been  withdrawn,^  and  the  beast  has 
stepped  forth  in  the  plenitude  of  his  power.  He  has 
been  revealed  as  the  *^  ten  horns  "  which  occupy  the 
place  of  the  seventh  head  ;  and  these  ten  horns  are  ten 
kings  who,  having  now  received  their  kingdoms  and 
with  their  kingdoms  their  diadems,  are  the  actual 
manifestation  in  history  of  the  beast  as  he  had  been 
seen  in  his  ideal  form  in  chap.  xiii.  The  beast  is 
therefore  the  spirit  of  the  world,  partly  in  its  secu- 
larising influence,  partly  in  its  brute  force,  in  that 
tyranny  and  oppression  which  it  exercises  against  the 
children  of  God.  The  woman,  again,  is  the  spirit  of 
false  religion  and  religious  zeal,  which  had  shown  itself 
under  all  previous  forms  of  worldly  domination,  and 
which  was  destined  to  show  itself  more  than  ever  under 
the  last.  To  the  eye  of  St.  John  this  spirit  was  not 
confined  to  Christian  times.  The  woman,  considered 
in  herself,  is  not  simply  the  false  Christian  Church. 
She  is  so  at  the  moment  when  we  behold  her  on  the 
field  of  history.  But  St.  John  did  not  believe  that 
saving  truth,  the  truth  which  unites  us  to  Christ,  the 
truth  which  is  '*  of  God,"  was  to  be  found  in  Christianity 


Comp.  2  Thess.  ii.  7. 


298  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

alone.  It  had  existed  in  Judaism.  It  had  existed  even 
in  Heathenism,  for  in  his  Gospel  he  remembers  and 
quotes  the  words  of  our  Lord  in  which  Jesus  says, 
**And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold: 
them  also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  My  voice  ; 
and  they  shall  become  one  flock,  one  Shepherd."  ^  As 
then  Divine  truth,  the  light  which  never  ceases  to  con- 
tend with  the  darkness,  had  been  present  in  the  world 
under  every  one  of  its  successive  kingdoms,  so  also 
perversions  of  that  truth  had  never  failed  to  be  present 
by  its  side.  All  along  the  line  of  past  history,  in 
Heathenism  as  well  as  in  Judaism,  the  ideal  bride  of 
Christ  had  been  putting  on  her  ornaments  to  meet  the 
Bridegroom  ;  and  not  less  all  along  the  same  line  had 
the  harlot  been  arraying  herself  in  purple  and  scarlet 
and  decking  herself  with  gold  and  precious  stones  and 
jewels,  that  she  might  tempt  men  to  resist  the  influence 
of  their  rightful  King.  The  harlot  had  been  always 
thus  superior  to  the  beast.  The  beast  had  only  the 
powers  of  this  w^orld  at  his  command ;  the  harlot 
wielded  the  powers  of  another  and  a  higher  world. 
The  one  dealt  only  with  the  seen  and  temporal,  the 
other  with  the  unseen  and  eternal,  the  one  with  material 
forces,  the  other  with  those  spiritual  forces  which  reach 
the  profoundest  depths  of  the  human  heart  and  give 
rise  to  the  greatest  movements  of  human  history.  The 
woman  is  therefore  superior  to  the  beast.  She  inspires 
and  animates  him.  The  beast  only  lends  her  the 
material  strength  needed  for  the  execution  of  her  plans. 
In  the  war,  accordingly,  which  is  carried  on  by  the  ten 
kings  who  have  one  mind,  and  who  give  their  power  and 
authority  unto  the  beast,  in  the  war  which  the  beast  and 

'  John  X.  16. 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON.  299 

they,  with  their  combined  power,  wage  for  one  hour 
against  the  Lamb,  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to 
suppose  that  the  woman,  although  she  is  not  mentioned, 
takes  no  part  and  exerts  no  influence.  She  is  really 
there,  the  prime  mover  in  all  its  horrors.  The  ''one 
mind  "  comes  from  her.  The  beast  can  do  nothing  of 
himself.  The  ten  kings  who  are  the  form  in  which  he 
appears  are  not  less  weak  and  helpless.  They  have  the 
outward  power,  but  they  cannot  regulate  it.  They  want 
the  skill,  the  subtlety,  the  wisdom,  which  are  found  only 
in  the  spiritual  domain.  But  the  great  harlot,  who  at 
this  point  of  history  is  the  perversion  of  Christian  truth, 
is  with  them  ;  and  they  depend  on  her.  Such  is  the  first 
part  of  the  relation  between  the  beast  and  the  harlot. 

A  second,  most  unexpected  and  most  startling,  follows. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  war  between  the  ten  kings 
and  the  Lamb  the  woman  is  present.  That  war  ends 
in  disaster  to  her  and  to  those  whom  she  inspires.  The 
Lamb  shall  overcome  them :  for  He  is  Lord  of  lords,  and 
King  of  kings.  The  name  is  the  same  as  that  which 
we  shall  afterwards  meet  in  chap.  xix.  16,  though  the 
order  of  the  clauses  is  di-fferent.  This  Lamb,  therefore, 
is  here  the  Conqueror  described  in  chap.  xix.  11-16; 
and  many  particulars  of  these  latter  verses  take  us  back 
to  the  Son  of  man  as  He  appeared  in  chap,  i.,  or,  in 
other  words,  to  the  risen  and  glorified  Redeemer.  The 
thought  of  the  risen  Christ  is  thus  in  the  mind  of 
St.  John  when  he  speaks  of  the  Lamb  who  shall  over- 
come. The  leaders  of  the  Jewish  Church  had  believed 
that  they  had  for  ever  rid  themselves  of  the  Prophet 
who  "  tormenteth  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth."  ^  They 
had  sealed  the  stone,  and  set  a  watch,  and  returned  to 

'  Comp.  chap.  xi.  lO. 


300  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION: 

their  homes  for  joy  and  merriment.  But  on  the  third 
morning  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  and  the  stone 
was  rolled  away  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre ;  and 
the  Crucified  came  forth,  the  Conqueror  of  death  and 
Hades.  Then  the  Lamb  overcame.  Then  He  began 
His  victorious  progress  as  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords.  Then  the  power  and  the  wisdom  of  the  world 
were  alike  put  to  shame.  Was  not  this  enough  ?  No, 
for  now  follow  the  words  which  come  upon  us  in  a  way 
so  wholly  unexpected  :  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou 
sawest,  and  the  beast^  these  shall  hate  the  harlot,  and 
shall  make  her  desolate  and  naked,  and  shall  eat  her  fleshy 
and  shall  hum  her  utterly  with  fire. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  these  words  ?  Surely  not 
that  Rome  was  to  be  attacked  and  overthrown  by  the 
barbaric  hordes  that  burst  upon  her  from  the  North  : 
for,  in  the  first  place,  the  Roman  manifestation  of  the 
world-power  had  passed  away  before  the  ten  kings 
came  to  their  kingdom  ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  when 
Rome  fell,  she  fell  as  the  beast,  not  as  the  harlot. 
Surely  also  not  that  a  great  world-city,  concentrating  in 
itself  all  the  resources  of  the  world-power,  is  to  be 
hated  and  burned  by  its  subjects,  for  we  have  already 
seen  that  this  whole  notion  of  a  great  world-city  of  the 
end  is  groundless ;  and  the  resources  of  the  world- 
power  are  always  in  this  book  concentrated  in  the 
beast,  and  not  in  the  harlot  who  directs  their  use. 
There  seems  only  one  method  of  explaining  the  words, 
but  it  is  one  in  perfect  consonance  with  the  method  and 
purpose  of  the  Apocalypse  as  a  whole.  As  on  many 
other  occasions,  the  fortunes  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
are  modelled  upon  the  fortunes  of  her  Master.  With 
that  Master  the  Church  was  one.  He  had  always 
identified  His  people  with  Himself,  in  life  and  death, 


xvii.]  THE  BEAST  AND  BABYLON. 


in  time  and  in  eternity.  Could  the  beloved  disciple 
do  otherwise?  He  looked  round  upon  the  suffering 
Church  of  his  day.  He  was  a  ''  companion  with  it  in 
the  tribulation,  and  kingdom,  and  patience  which  are 
in  Jesus."  ^  He  felt  all  its  wounds  and  sha'-ed  all  its 
sorrows,  just  as  he  felt  and  shared  the  wounds  and 
sorrows  of  that  Lord  who  lived  in  him,  and  in  whom 
he  lived.  Here,  therefore,  was  the  mould  in  which  the 
fortunes  of  the  Church  appeared  to  him.  He  went 
back  to  well-remembered  scenes  in  the  life  of  Christ ; 
and  he  beheld  these  repeating  themselves,  in  principle 
at  least,  in  the  members  of  His  Body. 

Now  there  was  one  scene  of  the  past— how  well 
does  he  remember  it,  for  he  was  present  at  the  time  !— 
when  the  Roman  power  and  a  degenerate  Judaism, 
the  beast  and  the  harlot  of  the  day,  combined 
to  make  war  upon  the  Lamb.  For  a  moment  they 
seemed  to  succeed,  yet  only  for  a  moment.  They 
nailed  the  Lamb  to  the  cross  ;  but  the  Lamb  overcame 
them,  and  rose  in  triumph  from  the  grave.  But  the 
Seer  did  not  pause  there.  He  looked  a  few  more 
years  onward,  and  what  did  he  next  behold?  That 
wicked  partnership  was  dissolved.  These  companions 
in  crime  had  turned  round  upon  one  another.  The 
harlot  had  counselled  the  beast,  and  the  beast  had 
given  the  harlot  power,  to  execute  the  darkest  deed 
which  had  stained  the  pages  of  human  history.  But  the 
alliance  did  not  last.  The  alienation  of  the  two  from 
each  other,  restrained  for  a  little  by  co-operation  in 
common  crime,  burst  forth  afresh,  and  deepened  with 
each  passing  year,  until  it  ended  in  the  march  of  the 
Roman  armies  into  Palestine,  their  investment  of  the 

1  Chap.  i.  9. 


302  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

Jewish  capital,  and  that  sack  and  burning  of  the  city 
which  still  remain  the  most  awful  spectacle  of  blood- 
shed and  of  ruin  that  the  w-orld  has  seen.  Even  this 
is  not  all.  St.  John  looks  still  further  into  the  future, 
and  the  tragedy  is  repeated  in  the  darker  deeds  of  the 
last  "hour."  There  will  again  be  a  "beast"  in  the 
brute  power  of  the  ten  kings  of  the  world,  and  a  harlot 
in  a  degenerate  Jerusalem,  animating  and  controlling 
it.  The  two  will  again  direct  their  united  energies 
against  the  true  Church  of  Christ,  the  "called,  and 
chosen,  and  faithful."  They  may  succeed  ;  it  will  be  only 
for  a  moment.  Again  the  Lamb  will  overcome  them ; 
and  in  the  hour  of  defeat  the  sinful  league  between 
them  will  be  broken,  and  the  world-power  will  hate 
the  harlot,  and  make  her  desolate  and  naked,  and  eat 
her  flesh,  and  burn  her  utterly  with  fire. 

This  is  the  prospect  set  before  us  in  these  words, 
and  this  the  consolation  of  the  Church  under  the  trials 
that  await  her  at  the  end  of  the  age.  "  When  the 
wicked  spring  as  the  grass,  and  all  the  workers  of 
iniquity  do  flourish ;  it  is  that  they  shall  be  destroyed 
for  ever:  but  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  on  high  for  ever- 
more. For,  lo.  Thine  enemies,  O  Lord,  for,  lo,  Thine 
enemies  shall  perish;  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  shall 
be  scattered."  ^ 

Babylon  is  fallen,  not  indeed  in  a  strictly  chrono- 
logical narrative,  for  she  will  again  be  spoken  of  as 
if  she  still  existed  upon  earth.  But  for  the  time  her 
overthrow  has  been  consummated,  her  destruction  is 
complete,  and  all  that  is  good  can  only  rejoice  at  the 
spectacle  of  her  fate.  Hence  the  opening  verses  of 
the  next  chapter. 

'  Ps.  xcii.  7-9. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE  FALL   OF  BABYLON. 
Rev.  xviii. 

BABYLON  has  fallen.  We  have  now  the  Divine 
proclamation  of  her  fate,  and  the  lamentation 
of  the  world  over  the  doom  to  which  she  has  been 
consigned : — 

After  these  things  I  saw  another  angel  coming  down  out  of  heaven, 
having  great  authority;  and  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory. 
And  he  cried  with  a  mighty  voice,  saying,  Fallen,  fallen  is  Babylon 
the  great,  and  is  become  a  habitation  of  devils,  and  a  hold  of  every 
unclean  spirit,  and  a  hold  of  every  unclean  and  hateful  bird.  For  by 
the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication  all  the  nations  are  fallen, 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  committed  fornication  with  her,  and  the 
merchants  of  the  earth  waxed  rich  by  the  power  of  her  wantonness 
(xviii.  1-3). 

At  chap.  xvii.  I  we  read  of  one  of  the  angels  that 
had  the  seven  Bowls.  The  angel  now  introduced  is 
another^  or  a  second.  We  shall  find  as  we  proceed  that 
we  have  entered  upon  a  new  series  of  seven  parts, 
similar  to  that  in  chap,  xiv.,  where  six  angels  and  their 
actions,  three  on  either  side,  are  grouped  around  One 
higher  than  angels,  and  forming  the  central  figure  of 
the  movement.  ^  The  series  is  a  long  one,  extending 
from  chap.  xvii.  I    to  chap.  xxii.  5,  the  central  figure 

*  Kliefolh  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  point  this  out. 


304  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

meeting  us  at  chap.  xix.  1 1  ;  and  again,  as  before,  the 
fact  ought  to  be  carefully  noticed,  for  it  has  a  bearing 
on  the  interpretation  of  some  of  the  most  difficult  sections 
of  this  book.  Meanwhile  we  have  to  do  with  the  second 
angel,  whose  action  extends  to  ver.  20  of  the  present 
chapter. 

The  description  given  of  this  angel  is  proportioned 
to  the  importance  of  his  message.  He  has  great 
authority;  the  earth  is  lightened  with  his  glory;  the 
voice  with  which  he  cries  is  mighty.  It  could  hardly 
be  otherwise  than  that,  with  such  joyful  tidings  as  he 
bears  to  men,  the  ^' glory  of  the  Loid  should  shine 
round  about  him,  and  a  light  from  heaven  above  the 
brightness  of  the  sun."  ^  The  tidings  themselves  follow, 
taken  from  the  Old  Testament  accounts  of  the  desolation 
that  was  to  come  upon  Babylon  :  *'  And  Babylon, 
the  glory  of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  of  the  Chaldeans'* 
pride,  shall  be  as  when  God  overthrew  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah.  It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither  shall  jt 
be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to  generation  :  neither 
shall  the  Arabian  pitch  tent  there ;  neither  shall  shep- 
herds make  their  flocks  to  lie  down  there.  But  wild 
beasts  of  the  desert  shall  lie  there ;  and  their  houses 
shall  be  full  of  doleful  creatures ;  and  ostriches  shall 
dwell  there,  and  satyrs  shall  dance  there.  And 
wolves  shall  cry  in  their  castles,  and  jackals  in  the 
pleasant  palaces."  ^  In  words  such  as  these,  though 
combined  throughout  both  the  present  and  following 
descriptions  with  expressions  taken  from  the  ruin  of 
other  famous  and  guilty  cities  of  the  Old  Testament, 
we  have  the  source  whence  the  pow^erful  and  pathetic 
words    of  thic  chapter  are  drawn.     The  most  terrible 


'  Luke  ii.  9;  Acts  xxvi.  13.  ^  Isa.  xiii.  19-22. 


xviii.  4-8.]  THE  FALL   OF  BABYLON.  305 

disasters  of  bygone  times  are  but  types  of  that  wreck 
of  all  the  grandeur  of  earth  which  we  are  now  invited 
to  behold,  while  Babylon's  sinfulness  is  referred  to  that 
her  fate  may  appear  to  be  no  more  than  her  appropriate 
punishment. 

At  this  point  we  are  met  by  one  of  those  sudden 
transitions,  common  in  the  Apocalypse,  which  so  com- 
pletely negative  the  idea  of  chronological  arrangement. 
A  cry  is  heard  which  seems  to  imply  that  Babylon 
has  not  yet  fallen  : — 

And  I  heard  another  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  Come  forth,  My 
people,  out  of  her,  that  ye  have  no  fellowship  with  her  sins,  and  that 
ye  receive  not.  of  her  plagues.  For  her  sins  have  reached  even  unto 
heaven,  and  God  hath  remembered  her  iniquities.  Render  unto  her 
even  as  she  rendered,  and  double  unto  her  the  double  according  to 
her  works  :  in  the  cup  which  she  hath  mingled  mingle  unto  her 
double.  How  much  soever  she  glorified  herself,  and  waxed  wanton, 
so  much  give  her  of  torment  and  mourning  :  for  she  saith  in  her 
heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  widow,  and  shall  in  no  wise  see 
mourning.  Therefore  in  one  day  shall,  her  plagues  come,  death,  and 
mourning,  and  famine ;  and  she  shall  be  utterly  burned  with  fire :  for 
strong  is  the  Lord  God  which  judged  her  (xviii.  4-8). 

The  first  words  of  this  voice  from  heaven  deserve 
peculiar  attention  :  Come  forth^  My  people,  out  of  her; 
that  is,  out  of  Babylon,  the  degenerate  Church.  We 
are  at  once  reminded  of  the  striking  teaching  of  our 
Lord  in  chap.  x.  of  the  fourth  Gospel,  where  He 
compares  Himself  to  the  ''  door  "  of  the  fold,  not  the 
door  by  which  the  sheep  enter  into,  but  by  which  they 
come  out  of,  the  fold.  ^  We  are  also  reminded  of  the 
blind  man  of  chap.  ix.  of  the  same  Gospel,  whom  our 
Lord  ^'  found  "  only  after  he  had  been  "  cast  out "  of 
the  synagogue.^  In  the  midst  of  the  blinded  theocracy 
of   Israel  in   the   days   of  Jesus   there  was  a   faithful, 

*  John  X.  7.  2  JqI^j^  jjj_  ^- 

20 


3o6  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

though  small,  remnant.  It  had  been  betrayed  by  the 
religious  guides  of  the  people,  who  had  become  "  thieves 
and  robbers,"  whom  the  true  sheep  did  not  know, 
and  to  whom  they  ought  not  to  listen.  Jesus  came  to 
call  it  out  of  the  theocracy  to  Himself.  Such  was 
the  spectacle  which  St,  John  had  witnessed  when  his 
Master  was  in  the  world,  and  that  experience  is  now 
repeated.  The  CJiurch  as  a  whole  degenerates.  Called 
to  prepare  men  for  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord, 
and  to  teach  them  to  live,  not  for  the  present,  but  the 
future,  she  becomes  herself  the  victim  of  the  present. 
She  forgets  that,  in  the  absence  of  the  Bridegroom, 
her  days  are  days  of  fasting.  She  fails  to  realize  the 
fact  that  until  her  Lord  comes  again  her  state  is  one 
of  widowhood.  And,  instead  of  mourning,  she  sits  as 
a  queen,  at  ease  and  satisfied,  proud  of  her  pomp  and 
jewellery.  What  is  all  this  but  a  recurrence  of  the 
old  events  of  history?  The  Apostle  sees  the  future 
mirrored  in  the  past ;  and  he  can  only  follow  in  his 
Master's  footsteps,  and  call  His  Christian  remnant  out 
of  Babylon. 

The  words  are  in  the  highest  degree  important  for 
the  interpretation  and  understanding  of  the  Apocalypse. 
We  have  already  found  in  more  than  one  passage 
distinct  traces  of  this  double  Church,  of  the  true  Church 
within  the  false,  of  the  few  living  ones  within  the  Body 
which  had  a  name  to  live,  but  was  dead.  Here  the 
distinction  meets  us  in  all  its  sharpness,  and  fresh 
light  is  cast  upon  passages  that  may  have  formerly 
seemed  dark.  "  Many  are  called,"  **  many  "  constituting 
the  outward  Church;  but  ''few  are  chosen,"  "few" 
constituting  the  real  Church,  the  Church  which  consists 
of  the  poor,  and  meek,  and  lowly.  The  tw'o  parts  may 
keep  together  for  a  time,  but  the  union  cannot   last; 


xvm.9-20.]  THE  FALL   OF  BABYLON.  307 

and  the  day  comes  when,  as  Christ  called  His  sheep 
out  of  the  Jewish,  so  He  will  again  call  His  sheep  out 
of  the  Christian  ''  fold,"  that  they  may  hear  His  voice, 
and  follow  Him. 

Hayiiig_auinmoned-  the  true-disciples  of  Jesus  out 
of  Jabylon,  the  voice  from.. heaven-again-ptfoclairas  in 
a  doubly  form,  as  s/;fs  and  as  iniquitiesj  the  guilt  of 
the  doomed. city,  andlnvltes  the  ministers  of  judgment, 
according  to  the  lex  talionis,  to  render  unto  her  double. 
The  command  may  also  be  founded  upon  the  law  of 
the  theocracy  by  which  thieves  and  violent  aggressors 
of__the  poor  were  required  to  make  a  double  repayment 
to  Jhose  whom  they  had  injured,^  or  il_may  rest  upon_ 
the  remembrance  of  such  threatenings  as  those  by  the 
prophet  Jeremiah,  "  I  will  recompense  their  iniiiuity 
and  their  sin  double."  ^ 

'  Judgment  is  next  supposed  to  have  been  executed 
upon  Babylon  ;  and  the  Seer  proceeds  to  describe  in 
language  of  unexampled  eloquence  the  lamentation  of 
the  world  over  the  city's  fall; — 

And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  committed  fornication  and  Hved 
wantonly  with  her,  shall  weep  and  wail  over  her,  when  they  look 
upon  the  smoke  of  her  burning,  standing  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her 
torment,  saying,  Woe,  woe,  the  great  city  Babylon,  the  strong  city ! 
for  in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come.  And  the  merchants  of  the 
earth  weep  and  mourn  over  her;  for  no  man  buyeth  their  merchandise 
any  more:  merchandise  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  precious  stone,  and 
pearls,  and  fine  linen,  and  purple,  and  silk,  and  scarlet,  and  all 
thyine  wood,  and  every  vessel  of  ivor}^,  and  every  vessel  made  of 
most  precious  wood,  and  of  brass,  and  iron,  and  marble,  and  cinna- 
mon, and  spice,  and  incense,  and  ointment,  and  frankincense,  and 
wine,  and  oil,  and  fine  flour,  and  wheat,  and  cattle,  and  sheep,  and 
merchandise  of  horses,  and  chariots,  and  slaves,  and  souls  of  men. 
And  the  fruits  which  thy  soul  lusted  after  are  gone  from  thee,  and  all 
things  that  were  dainty  and  sumptuous  are  perished  from  thee,  and 

'  Exod.  xxii.  4,  7,  9.  ^  Jer.  xvi.  18. 


3o8  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

men  shall  find  them  no  more  at  all.  The  merchants  of  these  things, 
who  were  made  rich  by  her,  shall  stand  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her 
torment,  weeping  and  mourning,  saying,  Woe,  woe,  the  great  city, 
she  that  was  arrayed  in  fine  linen,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  decked 
with  gold,  and  precious  stone,  and  pearl  !  for  in  one  hour  so  great 
riches  is  made  desolate.  And  every  shipmaster,  and  every  one  that 
saileth  anywhither,  and  mariners,  and  as  many  as  gain  their  living 
by  sea,  stood  afar  off,  and  cried  out  as  they  looked  upon  the  smoke 
of  her  burning,  saying,  What  city  is  like  the  great  city  ?  And  they 
cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and  cried,  weeping  and  mourning,  saying. 
Woe,  woe,  the  great  city,  wherein  were  made  rich  all  that  had  their 
ships  in  the  sea  by  reason  of  her  costliness  !  for  in  one  hour  is  she 
made  desolate.  Rejoice  with  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  saints,  and 
ye  apostles,  and  ye  prophets;  for  God  hath  judged  your  judgment  on 
her  (xviii.  9-20). 

Three  classes  of  persons  are  introduced  to  us  :  Kings^ 
Merchants,  and  Sailors^^  All_are  0/ ///^  earth  ;  and  each 
class^  in  its  own  strain,,  swells  the  voice  of  lamentation. 
The  words  are  largely  taken  from  the  Old  Testament, 
and  more  particularly  from  the  description  of  the  over- 
throw, of  Tyre  in  Ezekiel  (chaps,  xxvi.,  xxvii.).  There 
is  even  a  peculiar  propriety  in  this  latter  reference,  for 
Tyre  was  known  by  the  prophets  as  another  Babylon. 
In  describing  the  "  Burden  of  Tyre,"  Isaiah  uses  in  one 
part  of  his  description  the  words,  ''The  city  of  confusion  " 
(the  meaning  of  the  word  Babylon)  "  is  broken  down."  ^ 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  any  examination 
clause  by  clause  of  the  passage  before  us.  We  shall 
better  catch  its  spirit  and  be  made  sensible  of  its  effect 
by  attj;nding  to  a  few  general  observations  upon  the 
description  as  a  whole. 

I.  Not  without  interest  may  we  mark  that  the  classes 
selected  to  mourn  over  the  burning  of  the  city  are  three 
in  number.     We  have  thus  another  illustration  of  the 

*  Isa.  xxiv.  ic. 


xviii.  9-20.]  THE  FALL   OF  BABYLON.  309 

manner  in  which  that  number  penetrates  the  structure 
nrajl  the  writinp^s  of  St.  John. 

2.  Emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  fact  that  the  city  is 
burned.  Her  destruction  by  fire  has  indeed  been  more 
than  once  alluded  to..  Of  the  beast  and  the  ten  horns 
it  had  been  said  that  "  they  sliall  burn  her  utterly  with 
fire ; "  ^  and,  again,  it  had  been  proclaimed  by  the  voice 
from  heaven  that  ''she  shall  be  utterly  burned  with 
fire."^  We  shall  not  venture  to  say  with  any  measure 
of  positiveness  that  the  type  of  this  "  burning "  is 
taken_from  the  burning  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans. 
It  may_  have  been  taken  from  the  burning  of  other  cities 
byL_victorious  enemies.  But_this  much  at  least  is  ^-rf" 
o_byiQiis_:  that,  in  conjunction  with  the  fact  that  Babyloji^ 
is_a  harlot,  destruction  by  fire  leads  us  directly  to  -the 
thoug^ht  of  the  spiritual,  and  not  simply  the  civil,.,  or 
political,  or  commerxial.  character  of  the  city^  According 

to  the  law  of  Moses,  burning  appears  to  have  been  the 
punishment  of  fornication  only  in  the  case  of  a  priest's 
daughter:  ''And  the  daughter  of  any  priest,  if  she 
profane  herself  by  playing  the  harlot,  she  shall  be  burnt 
with  fire."^ 

3.  Whether  there  is  any  other  allusion  to  spiritual 
traffic  in  the  jamentations  before  us  it  is  not  easy  to  say. 
Of  one  at  least  which  may  be  quoted  in  this  connexion 
the  interpretation  is  uncertain.  WJien  the  merchants 
of  the  earth  weep  and  mourn  over  the  loss  of  that 
merchandise  which  they  now  miss^  they_extend  it,  not 
only  to  articles  of  commerce  bought  and  sold  in  an. 
ordinary  market,  but  to  souls  of  men.  It  may  be  that,  as 
often  suggested,  slavery  alone  is  thought  of.  Yet-it-is. 
highly  improbable  that  such  is  the  case.     Rather  may 

*  Chap.  xvii.  16,  '^  Chap,  xviii.  8  ®  Lev.  xxi.  9. 


3IO  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

it  be  supposed,  tQj:efer_  to  that  spiritual  Jife  which  is 
destroyed— h^L-too  -much  occupation  with,  and  JQO 
engrossing  interest  in,  the  world.  ^*  The  characteristic 
of  this  fornication  is  the  seihng  themselves  for  gold,  a^ 
the  Greek  word  signifies.  Therefore  with  such  won- 
derful force  and  emphasis  of  accumulation  is  every 
species  of  this  merchandise  mentioned,  running  up  all 
into  one  head :  the  souls  of  men.  Like  that  in  the 
prophet :  *  Their  land  is  full  of  silver  and  gold,  neither 
is  there  any  end  of  their  treasures  ;  their  land  also  is 
full  of  horses,  neither  is  there  any  end  of  their  chariots ; 
their  land  also  is  full  of  idols.'  And  it  must  be_^ 
observed  that  all  these  things  which  are  so  minutely, 
particularized  as  expressive  of  the  meshes  of  that  net , 
by  which  men's  souls  are  taken  have  also  their  place, 
in_  the  new  Jerusalem,  where  every  jewel  is  specified 
by_  name,  and  the  gold  of  its  streets,  and  the  fine  hnen, 
and  the  incense,  and  the  wine,  and  the  oil,  its  white 
horses  also.  In  both  alike  must  they  stand  for  spiritual 
merchandise  of  good  and  evil,  the  false  riches  and  the 
true."i 

The.  conclusion  to  be  drawn  is  that  Babylon  is  a 
spiritual  city._,  Th_at,  as  such,  she  is  Jerusalem  is  further 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that,  at  the  close  of  the  chapter, 
it_is_said.  And  in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  prophets^ 
and  of  saints^  and  of  all  that  have  been  slain  upon  the. 
earth.  Similar  words  met  us  in  chap.  xvii.  6;  and 
here,  as  there,  they  unmistakeably  remind  us  of  the 
words  already  quoted  in  which  our  Lord  describes  the 
great  city  of  the  Jews.^ 

4.  From  all  that  has  been  said,  it  must  be  obvious 
that  nothing  is  here  spoken  of  Babylon  inapplicable. 

'   Isaac  Williams,  The  Apocalypse^  with  Noies,  etc.,  p.  360, 
*  Matt,  xxiii.  35.     Ccmp.  p.  291. 


xviii.  21-24.]  THE  FALL   OF  BABYLON.  311 

to._J.erusalem  when  we  think  of  this  latter  city  in  the 
Hght  in  which  the  Seer  specially  regards  it.  Jerusalem 
was  indeed  neither  a  commercial  nor  a  maritime  city, 
but  Rome  also  was  no  city  on  the  sea.  A  large  part, 
therefore,  of  the  details  of  St.  John's  description  is  not 
less  destitute  of  force  when  applied,  if  applied  literally, 
to  the  latter  than  to  the  former.  On  the  other  hand, 
these  details  are  more  applicable  to  Jerusalem  than  to 
Rome,  if  we  remember  that  Jerusalem  supplies,  in  a 
way  impossible  to  Rome,  the  groundwork  for  a  de- 
lineation of  those  religious  forces  which  are  far  more 
wide-spreading  in  their  reach,  and  far  more  crushing 
in  their  power,  than  the  legions  of  the  imperial  metro- 
polis. 
"K^"  Babylon  then  is  fallen,  and  that  with  a  sudden  and 
swift  destruction,  a  destruction  indeed  so  sudden  and 
so  swift  that  each^of  the  three  companies  that  lament 
takes  particular  notice  of  the  fact  that  in  one  hour  did 
her  judgment  come.-^ 

More,  however,  so  important  is  the  subject,  has  to 
be  said ;  and  we  are  introduced  to  the  action  of  the 
third  angel  of  the  first  group  : — 

And  a  strong  angel  took  up  a  stone,  as  it  were  a  great  millstone, 
and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  Thus  with  a  mighty  fall  shall  Babylon, 
the  great  city,  be  cast  down,  and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all. 
And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and  minstrels,  and  flute-players,  and 
trumpeters,  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee ;  and  no  craftsman, 
of  whatsoever  craft,  shall  be  found  any  more  at  all  in  thee;  and  the 
voice  of  a  millstone  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee ;  and  the 
voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  of  the  bride  shall  be  heard  no  more  at 
all  in  thee  :  for  with  thy  sorcery  were  all  the  nations  deceived.  And 
in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  prophets,  and  of  saints,  and  of  all  that 
have  been  slain  upon  the  earth  (xviii.  21-24). 

Yet  once  again,   it  would   seem,  must  we  think  of 

*  Vers.  10,  17,  19. 


312  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

Babylon  as  to  be  destroyed  rather  than  as  destroyed 
already.  So  great  is  her  guiltiness  that  the  Seer  again 
and  again  approaches  it,  and  dwells,  though  from 
different  points  of  view,  upon  the  thought  of  her  dis- 
astrous fate.  In  the  present  case  it  is  less  the  method 
than  the  effect  of  her  destruction  that  is  before  his 
eye,  and  nothing  can  be  more  touching  than  the  light 
in  which  he  presents  it.  At  one  moment  we  behold 
the  city  in  her  brightness,  her  gaiety,  her  rich  and 
varied  life.  We  hear  the  voice  of  her  harpers,  and 
minstrels,  and  flute-players,  and  trumpeters,  all  that 
can  delight  the  ear  accompanying  all  that  can  please 
the  eye.  Her  craftsmen  of  every  craft  are  busy  at 
their  work ;  and  each  shop  in  the  great  city  resounds 
with  the  noise  of  the  hammer,  or  the  shuttle,  or  the 
other  instruments  of  prosperous  industry.  The  cheering 
sound  of  the  millstone  tells  that  there  is  food  in  her 
humbler  dwellings.  Her  merchants,  too,  are  the 
princes  of  the  earth ;  innumerable  lamps  glitter  in 
their  halls  and  gardens ;  and  the  voice  of  the  bride- 
groom and  the  bride  is  the  pledge  of  her  well-being 
and  joy.  The  next  moment  the  proud  city  is  cast 
\  like  a  millstone  into  the  sea ;  and  all  is  silence,  desola- 
tion, and  ruin.  The  resources  of  language  appear  as 
if  they  had  been  exhausted  to  supply  the  description 
of  so  great  a  fall. 

We  have  now  reached  the  close  of  the  longest  and 
most  important  section  of  the  Apocalypse,  beginning, 
as  has  been  already  pointed  out,  with  chap.  vi.  It  is 
the  fourth  in  that  series  of  seven  of  which  the  book  is 
composed  ;  and  the  main  purpose  of  St.  John  in  writing 
finds  expression  in  it.  As  the  writer  of  the  fourth 
Gospel  describes  in  the   fourth  section  of  that  book. 


xviii.  21-24-]  THE  FALL   OF  BABYLON:  313 

extending  from  chap.  v.  to  chap,  xii.,  the  conflict  be- 
tween the  Son  of  God  and  ''the  Jews,"  so  he  describes 
in  the  corresponding  section  of  the  Apocalypse  the 
conflict  between  the  glorified  Son  of  man  as  He  lives 
and  reigns  in  His  Church  and  the  evil  of  the  world. 
Throughout  the  conflict  we  are  not  once  permitted  to 
forget  that,  although  Christ  and  the  true  members  of 
His  Body  may  be  the  objects  of  attack,  and  may  even 
have  to  retire  for  security  from  the  field,  God  is  on 
their  side,  and  will  never  suffer  His  faithfulness  to  fail 
or  forget  His  promises.  In  a  threefold  series  of  judg- 
ments the  guilty  world  and  the  guilty  Church  are 
visited  with  the  terrors  of  His  wrath.  These  three 
series  of  judgments,  too,  go  on  in  an  ascending  line. 
The  climactic  character  of  their  contents  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  and  nothing  more  need  be  said  of 
it.  But  it  may  be  worth  while  to  notice  that  the 
element  of  climax  appears  not  less  in  the  nature  of  the 
instruments  employed.  Comparing  the  Trumpets  with 
the  Seals,  the  simple  fact  that  they  are  Trumpets  indi- 
cates a  higher,  more  exciting,  more  terrible  unfolding  of 
wrath.  The  Trumpet  is  peculiarly  the  warlike  instru- 
ment, summoning  the  hosts  to  battle :  ''  Thou  hast 
heard,  O  my  soul,  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  the  alarm 
of  war ; "  "  That  day  is  a  day  of  wrath,  a  day  of  trouble 
and  distress,  a  day  of  wasteness  and  desolation,  a  day 
of  darkness  and  gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick 
darkness,  a  day  of  the  trumpet  and  alarm  against  the 
fenced  cities."  ^  That  the  Bowls,  again,  are  still  more 
potent  than  the  Trumpets,  appears  from  the  language 
in  which  they  are  described,  from  their  mode  of  intro- 
duction,  and   from    the    vessels  made   use   of  for   the 

^  Jen  iv.  19;  Zeph.  1.  15,  i6> 


314  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

plagues.  They  are  "  the  last "  plagues ;  in  them  is 
"finished"  the  wrath  of  God;  they  are  called  for  by 
a  "  great  voice  out  of  the  sanctuary ; "  and  they  proceed, 
not  from  a  secular  instrument,  however  warlike,  but 
from  a  sacred  vessel,  not  from  one  which  must  be 
sounded  for  a  length  of  time  before  it  produces  its 
effect,  but  from  one  which,  inverted  in  a  moment,  pours 
out  with  a  sudden  gush  its  terrors  upon  men.  Similar 
though  they  thus  are,  the  three  series  of  judgments 
lose  what  might  otherwise  be  their  sameness ;  and  the 
mind  is  invited  to  rest  upon  that  most  instructive 
lesson  of  the  providence  of  God,  that  in  proportion 
to  privilege  misused  is  the  severity  with  which  sin 
is  punished.  Throughout  all  these  judgments  the 
righteous  are  kept  safe. 

It  will  thus  be  observed  that  there  is  no  strict  chrono- 
logical succession  in  the  visions  of  this  book.  There 
is  succession  of  a  certain  kind,  succession  in  intensity 
of  punishment.  But  we  cannot  assign  one  series  of 
judgments  to  one  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
or  limit  another  to  another.  All  the  three  series  may 
continually  fulfil  themselves  wherever  persons  are 
found  of  the  character  and  disposition  to  which  they 
severally  apply. 

But  while  these  three  series  constitute  the  chief 
substance  of  the  fourth,  or  leading,  section  of  the  seven 
into  which  the  Apocalypse  is  divided,  they  do  not 
exhaust  the  subject.  The  last  series,  in  particular — ■ 
that  of  the  Bowls — has  proceeded  upon  a  supposition 
the  most  startling  and  pathetic  by  which  the  history 
of  the  Church  is  marked, — that  "they  are  not  all 
Israel  which  are  of  Israel,"  that  tares  have  mingled 
with  the  wheat,  and  that  the  spirit  of  Babylon  has  found 
its  way  into  the  heart  of  the  city  of  God.     A  pheno 


xviii.  21-24.]  THE  FALL   OF  BABYLON. 


315 


menon  so  unexpected  and  so  melancholy  stands  in 
need  of  particular  examination,  and  that  examination 
is  given  in  the  description  of  the  character  and  fate 
of  Babylon.  The  remarks  already  made  upon  this 
point  need  not  be  repeated.  It  may  be  enough  to 
remind  the  reader  that  in  no  part  of  his  whole  book  is 
the  Seer  more  deeply  moved,  and  that  in  none  does  he 
rise  to  strains  of  more  powerful  and  touching  eloquence. 
Yet  what  is  chiefly  required  of  us  is  to  open  our  minds 
to  the  full  impression  of  the  fact  that  Babylon  does 
fall,  deep  in  ruin  as  in  guilt,  and  that  with  her  fall 
the  conflict  ends. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  PAUSE  OF  VICTORY  AND  JUDGMENT  OF  THE 
BEAST  AND  THE  FALSE  PROPHET 

Rev.  xix. 

THOSE  who  have  followed  Vv^ith  attention  the  course 
of  this  commentary  can  hardly  fail  to  have  ob- 
served its  leading  conception  of  the  book  with  which 
it  deals.  That  conception  is  that  the  Revelation  of 
St.  John  presents  to  us  in  visions  the  history  of  the 
Church  moulded  upon  the  history  of  her  Lord  whilst 
He  tabernacled  among  men.  It  is  the  invariable  lesson 
of  the  New  Testament  that  Christ  and  His  people  are 
one.  He  is  the  Vine  ;  they  are  the  branches.  He  is 
in  them ;  they  are  in  Him.  With  equal  uniformity  the 
sacred  writers  teach  us  that  just  as  Christ  suffered 
during  the  course  of  His  earthly  ministry,  so  also  His 
people  suffer.  They  have  to  endure  the  struggle  before 
they  enjoy  the  victory,  and  to  bear  the  cross  before  they 
win  the  crown.  But  the  peculiarity  of  the  Apocalypse 
is,  that  it  carries  out  this  thought  much  more  fully  than 
the  other  New  Testament  books.  St.  John  does  not 
merely  see  the  Church  suffer.  He  sees  her  suffer  in 
a  way  precisely  as  her  Lord  did.  He  lives  in  the 
thought  of  those  words  spoken  by  Jesus  to  Salome  at 
a  striking  moment  of  his  life  with  regard  to  his  brother 
and  himself,   "The   cup  that  I  drink  ye  shall  drink; 


xix.]  THE  PAUSE   OF   VICTORY.  317 

and  with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  withal  shall 
ye  be  baptized."  ^  That  very  cup  is  put  into  his  hands 
and  into  the  hands  of  his  brethren,  who  are  "  partakers 
with  him  in  the  tribulation,  and  kingdom,  and  patience 
which  are  in  Jesus  ; "  ^  with  that  very  baptism  they  are 
all  baptized. 

Now  we  know  from  the  fourth  Gospel  what  the  light 
was  in  which  St.  John  looked  back,  at  a  distance  of 
more  than  half  a  century,  upon  the  life  of  Jesus. 
Nothing  therefore  was  more  natural  than  that,  dealing 
only  with  the  great  principles  at  work  in  God's  govern- 
ment of  the  world  and  guidance  of  His  Church,  and 
seeing  these  principles  embodied  in  visions,  the  visions 
should  present  to  him  a  course  of  things  precisely 
similar  to  that  which  had  been  followed  in  the  case  of 
the  Forerunner  of  the  Church  and  the  Captain  of  her 
salvation. 

Turning  then  to  the  fourth  Gospel,  it  has  long  been 
acknowledged  by  every  inquirer  of  importance  that 
the  struggle  of  Jesus  with  the  world,  which  the  Evan- 
gelist chiefly  intends  to  relate,  ends  with  the  close  of 
chap.  xii.  It  is  equally  undeniable  that  with  the  begin- 
ning of  chap,  xviii,  the  struggle  breaks  out  afresh. 
Between  these  two  points  lie  chaps,  xiii.  to  xvii.,  five 
chapters  altogether  different  from  those  that  either 
precede  or  follow  them,  marked  by  a  different  tone,  and 
centring  around  that  institution  of  the  Last  Supper  in 
which,  Judas  having  now  "  gone  out,"  the  love  of  Jesus 
to  His  disciples  is  poured  forth  with  a  tenderness  pre- 
viously unexampled.  In  these  chapters  we  have  first 
a  narrative  in  which  the  love  of  Jesus  is  related  as 
it  appears  in  the  foot-washing  and   in  the  institution 

*  Mark  x.  39.  2  ^^^  j^  ^^ 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


of  the  Supper,  and  then,  immediately  afterwards,  a 
pause.  This  pause — chaps,  xiii.  3  i-xvii. — together  with 
the  narrative  preceding  it,  occurs  at  the  close  of  a 
struggle  substantially  finished — '*  I  glorified  Thee  on 
the  earth,  having  accomplished  the  work  which  Thou 
hast  given  Me  to  do "  ^ — and  only  yet  again  to  burst 
forth  in  one  final  and  unsuccessful  effort  against  the 
Prince  of  life. 

It  would  seem  as  if  we  had  a  similar  structure  at  the 
point  of  the  Apocalypse  now  reached  by  us.  There  is 
a  transition  narrative  which,  so  far  as  the  thought  in 
it  is  concerned,  may  be  regarded  either  as  closing  the 
fourth  or  as  beginning  the  fifth  section  of  the  book. 
It  is  probably  better  to  understand  it  as  the  latter, 
because  the  mould  of  the  Gospel  is  thus  better  pre- 
served ;  and,  where  so  much  else  speaks  distinctly  of 
that  mould,  there  is  no  impropriety  in  giving  the  benefit 
of  a  doubt  to  what  is  otherwise  sufficiently  established. 
Although  therefore  the  fifth  section  of  the  Apocalypse, 
the  Pause,  begins  properly  with  ver.  1 1  of  the  present 
chapter,  the  first  ten  verses  may  be  taken  along  with 
these  as  a  preparatory  narrative  standing  to  what 
follows  as  John  xiii.  1-30  stands  to  chap.  xiii.  31- 
chap,  xvii.  The  probability,  too,  that  this  is  the  light 
in  which  we  are  to  look  at  the  passage  before  us,  is 
rendered  greater  when  we  notice,  first,  that  there  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  preliminary  narrative,  and  for  the  first 
time  mention  made  of  a  "supper,"  the  marriage  supper 
of  the  Lamb,^  and,  secondly,  that  at  a  later  point  in  the 
book  there  is  a  final  outburst  of  evil  against  the  Church, 
which,  notwithstanding  the  powerful  forces  ranged 
against  her,  is  unsuccessful.^ 

*  John  xvii.  4.  "^  Ver.  9.  ^  Chap.  xx.  7, 


xix.  i-io.]  THE  PAUSE  OF   VICTORY.  319 

What  we  have  now  to  do  with  is  thus  not  a  continua- 
tion of  the  struggle.  It  is  a  pause  in  which  the  fall 
of  Babylon  is  celebrated,  and  the  great  enemies  of  the 
Church  are  consigned  to  their  merited  fate  : — 

After  these  things  I  heard  as  it  were  a  great  voice  of  a  great  multi- 
tude in  heaven,  saying,  Hallelujah ;  Salvation,  and  glory,  and  power, 
belong  to  our  God  :  for  true  and  righteous  are  His  judgments  :  for 
He  hath  judged  the  great  harlot,  which  did  corrupt  the  earth  with 
her  fornication,  and  He  hath  avenged  the  blood  of  His  servants  at  her 
hand.  And  a  second  time  they  say,  Hallelujah.  And  her  smoke 
goeth  up  for  ever  and  ever.  And  the  four-and-twenty  elders  and  the 
four  living  creatures  fell  down  and  worshipped  God  that  sitteth  on 
the  throne,  saying.  Amen ;  Hallelujah.  And  a  voice  came  forth  from 
the  throne,  sajing,  Give  praise  to  our  God,  all  ye  His  servants,  ye 
that  fear  Him,  the  small  and  the  great.  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the 
voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as 
the  voice  of  mighty  thunders,  saying,  Hallelujah  :  for  the  Lord  our 
God,  the  Almighty,  reigneth.  Let  us  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad, 
and  let  us  give  the  glory  unto  Him  :  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is 
come,  and  His  wife  hath  made  herself  ready.  And  it  was  given  unto 
her  that  she  should  clothe  herself  in  fine  linen,  bright  and  pure:  for 
the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous  acts  of  the  saints.  And  he  saith  unto 
me.  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are  bidden  unto  the  marriage 
supper  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith  unto  me.  These  are  true  words  of 
God.  And  I  fell  down  before  his  feet  to  worship  him.  And  he  saith 
unto  me,  See  thou  do  it  not :  i  am  a  fellow-servant  with  thee  and 
with  thy  brethren  that  hold  the  testimony  of  Jesus  :  worship  God  : 
for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy  (xix.  i-io). 

Babylon  has  fallen  ;  and  the  world,  represented  by 
three  classes  of  its  inhabitants — kings,  merchants,  and 
sailors — has  poured  out  its  lamentations  over  her  fall. 
Very  different  are  the  feelings  of  the  good,  and  these 
feelings  appear  in  the  narrative  before  us.  A  great 
multitude  is  heard  in  heaven^  not  necessarily  in  the 
region  beyond  the  grave,  but  in  that  of  the  righteous,  of 
the  unworldly,  of  the  spiritual,  whether  in  time  or  in 
eternity.  This  *'  multitude  "  is  probably  to  be  identified 
with  that  of  chap.  vii.  9.     The  definite  article,  which 


rilE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


would  render  the  identification  complete,  is  indeed 
wanting ;  but  we  have  already  found  instances  of  the 
same  method  of  speech  with  regard  to  the  one  hundred 
and  forty  and  four  thousand  of  chap.  xiv.  I,  and 
with  regard  to  the  glassy  sea  of  chap.  xv.  2.  The 
whole  ransomed  Church  of  God  is  therefore  included 
in  the  expression.  They  sing  first ;  and  the  burden 
of  their  song  is  Hallelujah^  or  Praise  to  God,  because 
He  has  inflicted  upon  the  harlot  the  due  punishment 
of  her  sins  and  crimes.  Nor  do  they  sing  only  once ; 
they  sing  the  same  ascription  of  praise  a  second  time. 
The  meaning  is  not  simply  that  they  do  this  twice,  the 
^'second  time"  having  more  than  its  numerical  force, 
and  being  designed  to  bring  out  the  intensity  of  their 
feelings  and  their  song.^  Then  the  four-and-twenty 
elders,  the  representatives  of  the  glorified  Church,  and 
the  four  living  creatures,  the  representatives  of  redeemed 
creation,  answer.  Amen,  and  take  up  the  same  song : 
Hallelujah.  All  creation,  animate  and  inanimate,  swells 
the  voice  of  joy  and  praise. 

Meanwhile  the  smoke  of  the  harlot^ s  torment  goeth  up 
for  ever  and  ever.  Again,  as  once  before,^  we  have 
here  no  right  to  fasten  our  thoughts  upon  immortal 
spirits  of  men  deceived  and  led  astray.  Such  may  be 
included.  If  they  have  identified  themselves  with  the 
harlot,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  say  that  they  are  included. 
But  what  is  mainly  brought  under  our  notice  is  the 
overthrow,  complete  and  final,  of  sin  itself.  Babylon 
has  been  utterly  overthrown,  and  her  punishment  shall 
never  be  forgotten.  Her  fate  shall  remain  a  monument 
of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  and  shall  illustrate 
unto  the  ages  of  the  ages  the  character  of  Him  who, 


*  Comp.  p.  122.  ^  Comp.  p.  250. 


xix.  i-io.]  THE  PAUSE   OF   VICTORY.  321 

for    creation's    sake,    will    "  by    no    means    clear   the 
guilty."  1 

A  voice  from  heaven  is  then  heard  calling  upon  all 
the  servants  of  God  to  praise  Him  ;  and  this  is  followed 
by  another  voice,  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude y 
and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of 
mighty  thunders,  saying,  Hallelujah :  for  the  Lord  our 
God,  the  Almighty,  reigueth.  He  always  indeed  really 
reigned,  but  now  He  has  taken  to  Himself  His  great 
power,  and  everything  acknowledges  its  King. 

Thus  a  new  moment  is  reached  in  the  history  of 
God's  saints.  The  Lamb  is  come  to  claim  His  bride, 
and  His  wife  hath  made  herself  ready.  She  has  been 
long  betrothed,  and  has  been  waiting  for  the  Bride- 
groom. Through  storm  and  calm,  through  sorrow 
and  joy,  through  darkness  and  light,  she  has  waited 
for  Him,  crying  ever  and  again,  ''  Come  quickly."  At 
last  He  comes,  and  the  marriage  and  the  marriage 
supper  are  to  take  place.  For  the  first  time  in  the 
Apocalypse  we  read  of  this  marriage,  and  for  the  first 
time,  although  the  general  idea  of  supping  with  the 
Lord  had  been  once  alluded  to,^  of  this  marriage  supper. 
The  figure  indeed  is  far  from  being  new.  The  writers 
both  of  the  Old  and  of  the  New  Testament  use  it  with 
remarkable  frequency.^  But  no  sacred  writer  appears 
to  have  felt  more  the  power  and  beauty  of  the  similitude 
than  St.  John.  In  the  first  miracle  which  he  records, 
and  in  which  he  sees  the  whole  glory  of  the  New 
Testament  dispensation  mirrored  forth,  He  who 
changed  the  water  into  wine  is  the  Bridegroom  of  His 

•  Exod.  xxxiv.  7. 

*  Comp.  chap.  iii.  20. 

«  Comp.  Ps.  xlv.  9-15;  Isa,  liv.  5;  Hos.  ii.  19;  Matt.  xxii.  2;  Eph. 
V.  32,  etc 

21 


'322  THE  BOOK   OF  REVELATION. 

Church^ ;  and,  when  the  Baptist  passes  out  of  view- 
in  the  presence  of  Him  for  whom  he  had  prepared 
the  way,  he  records  the  swan-hke  song  in  which  the 
great  prophet  terminated  his  mission  in  order  that 
another  and  a  higher  than  himself  might  have  sole 
possession  of  the  field  :  "  Ye  yourselves  bear  me 
witness,  that  I  said,  I  am  not  the  Christ,  but  that  I  am 
sent  before  Him.  He  that  hath  the  bride  is  the  bride- 
groom :  but  the  friend  of  the  bridegroom,  which  standeth 
and  heareth  him,  rejoiceth  greatly  because  of  the  bride- 
groom's voice  :  this  my  joy  therefore  is  fulfilled."^ 

Such  is  the  moment  that  has  now  arrived,  and  the 
bride  is  ready  for  it.  Her  raiment  is  worthy  of  our 
notice.  It  is  fine  linen,  bright  and  pure ;  and  then  it  is 
immediately  added,  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous  acts 
of  the  saints.  These  acts  are  not  the  imputed  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  although  only  in  Christ  are  the  acts  per- 
formed. They  express  the  moral  and  religious  condition 
of  those  who  constitute  the  bride.  No  outward  right- 
eousness alone,  with  which  we  might  be  clothed  as 
with  a  garment,  is  a  sufficient  preparation  for  future 
blessedness.  An  inward  change  is  not  less  necessary, 
a  personal  and  spiritual  meetness  for  the  inheritance  of 
the  saints  in  light.  Christ  must  not  only  be  on  us  as 
a  robe,  but  in  us  as  a  life,  if  we  are  to  have  the  hope 
of  glory.^  Let  us  not  be  afraid  of  words  like  these. 
Rightly  viewed,  they  in  no  way  interfere  wath  our 
completeness  in  the  L  ^3ved  alone,  or  with  the  fact 
that  not  by  works  of  righteousness  that  we  have  done, 
but  by  grace,  are  we  saved  through  faith,  and  that  not  of 
ourselves ;  it  is  the  gift  of  God.*     All  our  salvation  is 


"  John  ii.  I-Ii.  ■  Col.  i.  27. 

«  John  iii.  28,  29.  *  Eph.  ii.  8. 


x\x.  i-io.]  THE  PAUSE   OF   VICTORY.  323 

of  Christ,  but  the  change  upon  us  must  be  internal 
as  well  as  external.  The  elect  are  foreordained  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  God's  Son^ ;  and  the  Chris- 
tian condition  is  expressed  in  the  words  which  say, 
not  only  *'Ye  were  justified,"  but  also  "ye  were  washed, 
ye  were  sanctified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  in  the  Spirit  of  our  God."  ^ 

Thus  "  made  ready,"  the  bride  now  enters  with  the 
Bridegroom  into  the  marriage  feast ;  and,  as  the  whole  of 
her  future  rises  before  the  view  of  the  heavenly  visitant 
who  converses  with  the  Seer,  he  says  to  him,  Write, 
Blessed  are  they  which  are  bidden  to  the  marriage  supper 
of  the  Lamb. 

Once  before  St.  John  had  heard  a  similar,  perhaps 
the  same,  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  "  Blessed  are  the 
dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth."  ^  Then 
we  believed ;  now  we  see.  The  clouds  are  dispelled  ; 
the  veil  is  rent  asunder ;  we  enter  into  the  palace  of 
the  great  King.  There  is  music,  and  festivity,  and  joy. 
There  is  neither  sin  nor  sorrow,  no  privilege  abused, 
no  cloud  upon  any  countenance,  no  burden  upon  any 
heart,  no  shadow  from  the  future  to  darken  the  rapture 
of  the  present.  Here  is  life,  and  life  abundantly ;  the 
peace  that  passeth  understanding  ;  the  joy  unspeakable 
and  glorified;  the  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled, 
and  unfading. 

In  particular,  when  we  think  of  this  marriage  supper 
of  the  Lamb,  we  cannot  but  return  to  that  supper  in 
the  upper  chamber  of  Jerusalem  which  occupies  so 
strikingly  similar  a  position  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  There 
Jesus  said,  "Take,  eat:  this  is  My  body,  which  is  for 
you;"  "This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  My  blood: 

*  Rom.  viii.  29.  *  I  Cor.  vi.  II.  •  Chap.  xiv.  13, 


324  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

drink  ye  all  of  it."^  That  was  a  feast,  in  which  He 
gave  Himself  to  be  for  ever  the  nourishment  of  His 
Church.  And  in  like  manner  in  the  marriage  supper 
of  the  Lamb  the  Lord  who  be:ame  dead  and  is  alive 
for  evermore  is  not  only  the  Bridegroom,  but  the  sub- 
stance of  the  feast.  In  Him  and  by  Him  His  people 
lived  on  earth  ;  in  Him  and  by  Him  they  live  for 
ever. 

All  this  St.  John  saw.  All  this,  too,  he  heard  con- 
firmed by  the  statement  that,  wonderful  and  glorious 
as  was  the  spectacle,  it  was  yet  true  words  of  God. 
He  was  overwhelmed,  and  would  have  worshipped  his 
angelic  visitant.  But  he  was  interrupted  by  the  decla- 
ration on  the  angel's  part,  See  thou  do  it  not:  I  am  a 
fellow-servant  with  thee  and  with  thy  brethren  that  hold 
the  testimony  of  Jesus:  worship  God.  These  fellow- 
servants  are  first  the  prophets,  but  then  also  all  true 
members  of  Christ's  Body.  The  last  not  less  than  the 
first  hold  the  testimony  of  Jesus  ^ ;  and  because  they  do 
so,  they  too  are  prophets,  for  prophecy,  whether  in  Old 
or  in  New  Testament  times,  testifies  to  Him.  In  Him 
all  revelation  centres.  He  is  the  expression  of  the 
God  whom  no  man  hath  seen.  He  is  thus  the  Alpha 
and  the  Omega,  "  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever."  ^ 

By  so  contemplating  Him  we  are  prepared  for  the 
next  following  vision  : — 

And  I  saw  the  heavens  opened,  and  behold  a  white  horse,  and 
He  that  sat  thereon,  called  Faithful  and  True  ;  and  in  righteousness 
He  doth  judge  and  make  war.  And  His  eyes  are  a  flame  of  fire,  and 
upon  His  head  are  many  diadems  ;  and  He  hath  a  name  written, 
which  no  man  knoweth,  but  He  Himself.     And   He  is  arrayed  in  a 

^  Matt.  xxvi.  26,  27  ;  I  Cor.  xi.  24,  25. 

'  Comp.  chaps,  i.  3,  9,  vi.  9,  xi.  7,  xii.  17,  xx.  4. 

•  Rom.  ix.  5. 


xix.  1 1 -1 6.]  THE  PAUSE   OF   VICTORY.  325 

garment  sprinkled  with  blood  :  and  His  name  is  called  The  Word  of 
God.  And  the  armies  which  are  in  heaven  followed  Him  upon  white 
horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  pure.  And  out  of  His  mouth 
proceedeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it  He  should  smite  the  nations 
and  He  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron:  and  He  treadeth  the 
winepress  of  the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of  Almighty  God.  And  He 
hath  on  His  garment  and  on  His  thigh  a  name  written,  King  of 
KINGS,  AND  Lord  of  lords  (xix.  11-16). 

Of  the  position  of  this  passage  in  the  structure  of 
the  Apocalypse  we  have  already  spoken  ;  and,  looked 
at  in  that  its  true  light,  it  may  be  called  the  Pause 
of  Victory.  There  is  no  renewal  of  the  struggle.  A 
Warrior  is  indeed  presented  to  us  ;  but  He  is  a  Warrior 
who  has  already  conquered,  and  who  comes  forth  not 
so  much  to  subdue  His  enemies  as  to  inflict  upon  them 
their  final  punishment. 

Heaven  is  open^  and  our  attention  is  first  of  all 
directed  to  a  rider  upon  a  white  horse.  The  description 
given  of  this  rider  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  who  He  is. 
The  ''whiteness"  of  the  horse  is  the  emblem  of  a 
purity  that  can  be  connected  with  the  kingdom  of  God 
alone.  The  description  of  the  Rider — Faithful,  who 
will  not  suffer  one  word  that  He  has  promised  to  fail ; 
True,  not  true  as  opposed  to  false,  but  real  as  opposed 
to  shadowy — corresponds  only  to  something  essentially 
Divine ;  while  the  particulars  of  His  appearance  after- 
wards mentioned  take  us  back  to  the  glorified  Son  of 
man  of  chap,  i.,  and  to  other  passages  of  this  and  other 
books  of  the  Bible  which  speak  of  the  same  glorious 
Person.  There  are  the  eyes  like  a  flame  of  fire  of 
chap.  i.  14  and  chap.  ii.  18.  There  are  upon  His  head 
many  diadems,  a  fact  not  previously  mentioned,  but 
corresponding  to  the  many  royalties  which  belong  to 
Him  whom  all  things  obey.  There  is  the  name  which 
none  but  He  Himself  knowcih,  for  "no  one  knoweth 


326  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


the  Son  save  the  Father."  ^  There  is  the  garment 
sprinkled  with  blood,  of  which  we  read  in  the  prophet 
Isaiah,^  the  blood,  not  that  of  the  Conqueror  shed 
for  us,  but  the  blood  of  His  enemies  staining  His 
raiment  as  He  returns  victorious,  from  the  field. 
There  is  the  name  TJie  Word  of  God,  with  which 
St.  John  alone  has  made  us  familiar  in  the  opening 
of  his  Gospel.  There  are  the  armies  which  are  in 
heaven^  folloiving  Him  upon  white  horses,  and  clothed  in 
fine  linen,  white  and  pure,  to  which  our  attention  is 
directed,  not  for  their  sake,  but  for  His,  for  He  has 
made  them  partakers  of  His  victory.  There  is  the 
sharp  sword  proceeding  out  of  His  mouth  of  chap.  i.  i6 
and  chap.  ii.  12.  There  is  the  smiting  of  the  nations, 
of  which  we  have  already  heard  in  chap.  ii.  27  and 
chap.  xii.  5.  There  is  the  treading  of  the  ivinepress 
of  the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of  Almighty  God,  spoken 
of  in  chap.  xiv.  19,  20.  Finally,  there  is  on  His 
garment  and  on  His  thigh  the  name  King  of  kings, 
AND  Lord  of  lords.  All  these  traits  leave  no  doubt 
who  this  Captain  of  salvation  is  ;  and  all  are  noted  that 
we  may  better  understand  both  the  glory  of  His  person, 
and  the  nature  of  His  accomplished  work. 

One  thing  therefore  alone  remains  :  that  the  great 
adversaries  of  His  people  shall  be  consigned  to  their 
doom  ;  and  to  this  the  Seer  proceeds  : — 

And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the  sun ;  and  he  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying  to  all  the  birds  that  fly  in  mid-heaven,  Come  and  be 
gathered  together  unto  the  great  supper  of  God ;  that  ye  may  eat  the 
flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men, 
and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  thereon,  and  the  flesh  of 
all  men,  both  free  and  bond,  and  small  and  great.  And  I  saw 
the  beast,  and  the  kings   of  the  earth,  and  their  armies,  gathered 


Matt.  xi.  27.  ^  Isa.  Ixiii.  3. 


xix.  17-21.]  BEAST  AND  FALSE   PROPHET  /UDGED.     327 

together  to  make  war  against  Him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  and 
against  His  arm}'.  And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  he  that  was 
with  him,  the  false  prophet  that  wrought  the  signs  in  his  sight, 
wherewith  he  deceived  them  that  had  received  the  mark  of  the  beast, 
and  them  that  worshipped  his  image.  They  twain  were  cast  alive  into 
the  lake  of  fire  that  burneth  with  brimstone.  And  the  rest  were  killed 
with  the  sword  of  Him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  even  the  sword 
which  came  forth  out  of  His  mouth  :  and  all  the  birds  were  filled 
with  their  flesh  (xix.  17-21). 

The  angel  beheld  at  the  beginning  of  this  scene  is 
the  first  of  the  three  forming  tha  second  group  of  that 
series  of  seven  parts  of  which  the  triumphing  Con- 
queror was  the  centre.  He  stood  in  the  sun,  which  is 
to  be  thought  of  as  in  the  zenith  of  its  daily  path,  in 
order  that  he  may  be  seen  and  heard  by  all.  It  is  to 
the  birds  that  fly  in  mid-heaven  that  he  calls ;  that  is, 
to  those  strong  and  fierce  birds  of  prey,  such  as  the 
eagle  and  the  vulture,  which  fly  in  the  highest  regions 
of  the  atmosphere.  His  cry  is  that  they  shall  come  to 
the  great  supper  of  God,  that  they  may  feast  upon  the 
flesh  of  all  the  enemies  of  the  Lamb.  The  idea  of 
such  a  feast  is  found  in  the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel ;  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  from  the  many  accompanying 
circumstances  of  similarity  between  the  description  of 
it  there  and  here,  that  St.  John  has  the  language  of 
the  prophet  in  his  eye :  "  And,  thou  son  of  man,  thus 
saith  the  Lord  God  ;  Speak  unto  the  birds  of  every 
sort,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field,  Assemble  your- 
selves, and  come ;  gather  yourselves  on  every  side  to 
My  sacrifice  that  I  do  sacrifice  for  you,  even  a  great 
sacrifice  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel,  that  ye  may  eat 
flesh,  and  drink  blood.  Ye  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
mighty,  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  princes  of  the  earth, 
of  rams,  of  lambs,  and  of  goats,  of  bullocks,  all  of  them 
fatlings  of  Bashan.     And  ye  shall  eat  fat  till  ye  be  full, 


328  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

and  drink  blood  till  ye  be  drunken,  of  My  sacrifice 
which  I  have  sacrificed  for  you.  And  ye  shall  be  filled 
at  My  table  with  horses  and  chariots,  with  mighty  men, 
and  with  all  men  of  war,  saith  the  Lord  God."^  Yet, 
while  the  picture  of  the  prophet  is  unquestionably 
before  the  Seer's  mind,  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that 
we  have  in  this  supper  a  travesty  of  that  marriage 
supper  of  the  Lamb  which  had  been  spoken  of  in  the 
previous  part  of  the  chapter.^  In  contrast  with  the 
joyful  banquet  at  which  the  children  of  God  shall  be 
nourished  by  Him  whose  flesh  is  meat  indeed  and 
whose  blood  is  drink  indeed,  the  wicked,  to  whatever 
rank  or  station  they  belong,  shall  themselves  be  a  meal 
for  all  foul  and  ravenous  birds.  The  whole  passage 
reminds  us  of  the  spectacle  at  Calvary,  as  it  is  set 
before  us  in  the  fourth  Gospel,  and  may  be  accepted  as 
one  of  the  innumerable  proofs  of  the  similarity  between 
two  books — that  Gospel  and  the  Apocalypse — at  first 
sight  so  different  from  each  other.  On  the  Cross 
Jesus  is  the  true  Paschal  Lamb,  not  so  much  in  the 
moment  of  its  death  as  at  a  subsequent  stage,  when  it 
was  prepared  for,  and  eaten  at,  the  paschal  meal.  In 
the  conduct  of  the  Jews  on  that  occasion  St.  John 
appears  to  behold  an  inverted  and  contorted  Passover. 
The  enemies  of  Jesus  had  not  entered  into  the  judg- 
ment-hall of  Pilate,  "  lest  they  should  be  defiled ;  but 
that  they  might  eat  the  passover,"^  They  had  not  eaten 
it  then.  Amidst  the  tumult  and  stormy  passions  of 
that  dreadful  morning,  when  had  they  an  opportunity 
of  eating  it  ?  St.  John  does  not  tell  us  that  they  found 
one.  Rather  is  the  whole  narrative  so  constructed,  so 
full  of  close,  rapid,  passionate  action,  that  it  is  impossible 

•  Ezek.  xxxix.   1 7-20,  *  Ver.  9.  ^  John  xviii.  28. 


xix.  I7-2I.J  BEAST  AND  FALSE  PROPHET  JUDGED.     329 

to  fix  upon  any  point  at  which  we  can  insert  their  eating 
■until  it  was  too  late  to  make  it  legal.  May  it  not  be 
that  they  found  no  opportunity  for  eating  it?  They 
lost  their  passover.  Lost  it  ?  Nay ;  the  Evangelist 
seems  to  say,  they  found  a  passover.  Go  with  me 
to  the  Cross  ;  mark  there  their  cruel  mockeries  of  the 
Lamb  of  God ;  and  you  shall  see  the  righteous  dealings 
of  the  Almighty  as  He  makes  these  mockeries  take 
the  shape  of  a  passover  of  judgment,  a  passover  of 
added  sin  and  deepened  shame. -^ 

The  punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  especially  of 
the  three  great  enemies  of  the  Church,  now  proceeds ; 
and  it  ought  still  to  be  carefully  observed  that  we  have 
to  do  with  punishment,  not  war  or  overthrow  in  war. 
It  was  so  at  ver.  17,  where,  after  the  triumphing  Con- 
queror had  ridden  forth,  followed  by  His  armies,  there 
is  no  mention  of  any  battle.  There  is  only  the  angel's 
cry  to  the  birds  to  gather  themselves  together  unto 
the  great  supper  of  God.  The  battle  had  been  already 
fought,  and  the  victory  already  won.  We  are  now  told 
indeed  of  the  gathering  together  of  the  beast  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth  and  their  armies,  to  make  war  against 
Him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  and  against  His  army.  But, 
whatever  may  have  been  their  design,  it  is  not  executed. 
No  actual  fighting  is  spoken  of.  The  enemies  referred 
to  are  at  once  taken,  apparently  without  fighting,  and 
are  consigned  to  the  fate  which  they  have  brought  upon 
themselves. 

Two  of  the  three  great  enemies  of  the  Lord  and  of 
His  Church  meet  this  fate, — the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet.     The  first  of  these  is  the  beast  so  frequently 

'  The  writer  has  endeavoured  to  unfold  this  view  of  Jesus  on  the 
Cross  in  two  papers  in  The  Expositor,  first  series,  vol.  vi.,  pp. 
17,   129. 


330  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

mentioned  in  previous  chapters.  More  particularly  it 
is  the  beast  of  chap,  xvii.,  the  representative  of  the 
antichristian  world  in  its  last  and  highest  form.  The 
second  is  not  less  certainly  the  second  beast  of  chap, 
xiii.,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  "  he  deceiveth  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth  by  reason  of  the  signs  which  it  was  given 
him  to  do  in  the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying  to  them  that 
dwell  upon  the  earth,  that  they  should  make  an  image 
to  the  beast."  ^  The  "  signs/'  the  "deception,"  and  the 
'^  worship  "  of  the  beast  now  spoken  of  can  be  no  other 
than  those  thus  referred  to. 

One  point  may  be  noticed  further.  According  to 
what  seems  to  be  the  best  reading  of  the  original  Greek, 
we  are  told  here,  not  that  •"  the  beast  was  taken,  and 
with  him  the  false  prophet,"  but  "  the  beast  was  taken, 
and  he  that  was  with  him,  the  false  prophet."  In 
other  words,  the  language  of  St.  John  is  designed  to 
bring  out  the  closeness  of  connexion  between  these 
two  beasts,  the  fact  that  the  one  is  always  dependent 
on  the  other.  They  are  never  separated.  The  first 
cannot  act  without  the  second.  Hence  in  all  probability 
the  reason  why,  in  treating  of  the  doom  by  which  these 
enemies  of  the  Church  are  overtaken,  a  separate  para- 
graph is  not  assigned  to  each.  They  are  taken  to- 
gether. 

A  more  important  question  has  been  raised  in  con- 
nexion with  the  words  before  us  ;  and  it  has  been  urged 
that  they  conclusively  prove  that  both  the  beast  and 
the  false  prophet  are  persons,  not  personifications.^ 
We  have  already  seen  that  in  regard  to  the  ''  beast " 
that  conclusion  is  hasty.^  It  appears  to  be  not  less 
so  in  regard  to  the   "  false  prophet."     The  simple  fact 

*  Chap.  xiii.  I4.  '  Burger  in  loc,  ^'Comp.  p.  297. 


xix.  17-21.]  BEAST  AND  FALSE  PROPHET  JUDGED.     331 

that  he  deceiveth  them — that  is,  all  that  had  received  the 
mark  of  the  beast — is  inconsistent  with  such  an  idea, 
unless  we  ascribe  to  him  a  ubiquity  that  is  Divine; 
or  unless  we  suppose,  what  Scripture  gives  us  no 
warrant  for  beHeving,  that  there  is  in  the  realm  of  evil 
a  personal  trinity — the  dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false 
prophet — corresponding  to  the  Trinity  of  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  much  more  natural  to  think  that 
St.  John's  statements  upon  this  point  spring  from  that 
general  method  of  conception  which  distinguishes  him, 
and  by  which  everything  existing  in  the  realm  of  good 
is  thought  of  as  having  its  counterpart  in  the  realm  of  evil. 
The  question  thus  raised  is  wholly  independent  of  any 
consideration  of  the  fate  by  which  the  two  beasts  are 
overtaken.  When  principles  are  viewed  as  persons,  they 
must  be  spoken  of  as  persons ;  and  it  will  surely  not 
be  urged  that  death  and  Hades  are  persons  because  it 
is  said  of  them,  in  chap.  xx.  14,  that  they  ''  were  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire." 

The  beast  and  the  false  prophet  then  are  cast  to- 
gether into  the  lake  of  fire  that  burneth  with  brimstone ; 
and  this  lake  of  fire  is  further  explained  in  chap.  xx. 
14  to  be  "■  the  second  death."  It  is  impossible  to 
avoid  the  questions.  How  are  we  to  conceive  of  this 
''  lake  of  fire  "  ?  and.  What  is  its  effect  ?  Yet,  so  far 
as  at  present  concerns  us,  the  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions must  be  taken  from  St.  John  alone.  In  the  first 
instance  at  least  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  general 
teaching  of  Scripture  on  what  is  called  the  doctrine 
of  ''eternal  punishment."  Our  only  inquiry  must  be, 
What  impression  is  the  language  employed  by  the  Seer 
in  these  visions  intended  to  convey  ?  Upon  this  point 
it  would  seem  as  if  there  can  be  little  doubt.  To 
St.  John  it  is  no  matter  of  consequence  to  tell  us  what 


332  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

shall  be  the  condition  of  the  enemies  of  the  Church 
throughout  the  ages  of  the  future,  or  whether  they 
shall  be  preserved  everlastingly  alive  in  torment  and 
misery  and  woe.  His  one  aim  is  to  deal  with  the 
condition  of  the  kingdom  of  God  while  it  contends  with 
its  foes  in  this  present  scene.  His  one  object  is  to 
tell  us  that  these  foes  shall  be  destroyed  for  ever,  and 
that  the  world  shall  be  wholly  purged  from  them.  No 
further  information  is  required  to  comfort  us.  "We 
may  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  God. 
yT  Looking  at  the  matter  in  this  light,  we  do  not  need 
to  ask  whether  by  "  the  lake  of  fire"  we  are  to  under- 
stand a  lake  in  which  the  wicked  are  consumed  or  one 
in  which  they  are  upheld  in  undying  flames.  Either 
interpretation  is  consistent  with  the  Apostle's  course 
of  thought,  and  with  the  impression  which  he  wishes 
to  produce. 

No  doubt  it  may  be  said  that  the  principle  of  contrast, 
of  which  we  have  so  often  availed  ourselves  in  inter- 
preting this  book,  implies  that,  as  the  righteous  shall 
be  upheld  amidst  the  joys  of  everlasting  life,  so  the 
wicked  shall  be  upheld  amidst  the  torments  of  ever- 
lasting death.  But  it  is  precisely  here  that  the  pecu- 
liarity of  St.  John's  mode  of  thought  comes  in.  To 
him  "  life  "  is  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  everlasting. 
Were  it  not  so,  it  would  not  be  life.  Only  therefore 
in  so  far  as  the  conception  of  everlasting  torment  lies 
in  the  idea  of  "  death "  can  it  be  truly  said  that  the 
principle  of  contrast,  so  deeply  rooted  in  St.  John's 
mode  of  thought,  demands  the  application  of  everlasting 
torment  to  the  wicked.  But  the  idea  of  torment  ever- 
lastingly continued  does  not  lie  in  the  idea  of  "  death." 
Death  is  privation ;  when  inflicted  by  fire,  capacity  for 
torment  is  speedily  destroyed ;  and  death  itself  is  cast 


xix.  17-21.]  BEAST  AND  FALSE  PROPHET  JUDGED.     333 

into  the  lake  of  fire.  The  natural  conclusion  is  that 
the  idea  of  torment  belongs  to  the  mode  by  which  the 
death  spoken  of  is  inflicted — fire — and  that  the  words 
V  with  which  we  are  dealing  may  mean  no  more  than 
this, — that  the  eternity  of  effect  following  the  overthrow 
of  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  is  the  leading  con- 
ception associated  with  the  ''fire  that  burneth  with 
brimstone"  to  which  these  great  enemies  of  God's 
people  are  consigned. 
2£  If  what  has  been  said  be  correct,  the  whole  question 
of  the  everlasting  suffering  of  the  wicked  is  left  open  so 
far  as  these  passages  in  the  Apocalypse  are  concerned ; 
and  St.  John's  main  lesson  is  that  when  the  beast  and 
the  false  prophet  are  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  they 
shall  no  longer  have  power  to  war  against  the  righteous 
or  to  disturb  their  peace. 

When  these  two  enemies  of  the  Church  had  thus 
been  destroyed,  the  rest  were  killed  with  the  sword  of 
Him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  even  the  sword  which  came 
forth  out  of  His  mouth.  The  persons  thus  called  "  the 
rest"  are  those  who  stand  to  the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet  in  the  same  relation  as  that  in  which  "  the  rest 
of  the  woman's  seed,"  spoken  of  in  chap.  xii.  17,  stand 
to  the  man-child  "  caught  up  unto  God  and  unto  His 
throne."  The  man-child  exalted  and  glorified  is  the 
same  as  "  He  that  sat  upon  the  horse,"  and  in  that 
condition  a  sword  proceedeth  out  of  His  mouth.^  The 
Guardian  and  Protector  of  His  own,  who  has  kept  their 
true  life  safe  amidst  all  outward  troubles,  brings  also 
these  troubles  to  an  end.  Their  enemies  are  "  killed." 
They  are  not  yet  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  because  their 
hour  of  judgment   has  not  come.      By-and-by  it  will 

*  Chaps,  i.  16;  xix.  15. 


334  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

come.^  Meanwhile  not  only  can  they  harm  the  right- 
eous no  more,  but  they  afford  a  supper  to  the  ravenous 
birds  already  spoken  of;  and  the  birds  are  more  than 
satisfied  :  they  are  gorged  with  the  unholy  banquet. 
All  the  birds  were  filled  with  their  flesh. 

»  Chap.  XX.  15. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

lUDGMENT  OF  SATAN  AND  OF  THE   WICKED, 
Rev.  XX. 

IN  now  approaching  chap,  xx.,  with  its  yet  un- 
solved difficulties  of  interpretation,  it  is  of  essential 
importance  to  observe,  in  the  first  place,  the  relation 
of  the  chapter  to  what  immediately  precedes.  The 
Seer  is  not  entering  upon  an  entirely  new  subject. 
He  distinctly  continues,  on  the  contrary,  the  prose- 
cution of  a  theme  he  had  before  begun.  In  the 
previous  portion  of  his  book  three  great  enemies  of 
the  saints  of  God  had  been  introduced  to  us, — the 
dragon  or  the  devil,  the  beast,  and  the  false  prophet. 
These  were  the  main  opponents  of  the  Lamb,  in  one 
way  or  another  stirring  up  all  the  efforts  that  had 
been  made  against  Him  by  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
their  armies,  and  their  followers.  For  a  time  they 
had  appeared  to  succeed.  They  had  persecuted  the 
saints,  had  compelled  them  to  flee,  had  overcome 
them,  and  killed  them.  This,  however,  could  not 
continue ;  and  it  was  to  be  shown  that  the  final 
triumph  remains  with  those  who  have  suffered  for  the 
sake  of  righteousness.  In  chap.  xix.  we  have  the 
beginning,  but  not  the  close,  of  this  triumph.  Of  the 
three  great  enemies  only  two — the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet — perish  in  that  chapter.     The  destruction   of 


336  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  third  is  reserved  for  chap,  xx.,  and  is  effected  at 
the  tenth  verse  of  the  'chapter.  The  verses  following 
then  describe  the  judgment  of  those  who  had  listened 
to  these  enemies,  but  who,  though  defeated,  or  even 
killed,^  or  devoured  by  fire  out  of  heaven  when  in 
their  service,^  had  not  yet  been  consigned  to  their 
doom.  Thereafter  nothing  remains,  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  triumph  of  Christ  and  His  saints,  but  that 
death  and  Hades  shall  also  be  removed  from  the  scene 
and  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire. 

These  considerations  are  of  themselves  sufficient 
to  show  that  the  overthrow  of  Satan,  and  not  the  reign 
of  a  thousand  years,  is  the  main  theme  of  the  first 
ten  verses  of  the  chapter.  So  far  is  the  latter  from 
being  the  culminating  point  of  the  whole  book,  that 
it  is  not  even  introduced  at  the  beginning  of  any  new 
and  important  section.  It  starts  no  new  series  of 
visions.  It  comes  in  in  the  midst  of  a  section  devoted 
to  an  entirely  different  matter  : — 

And  I  saw  an  angel  coming  down  out  of  heaven,  having  the  key  of 
the  abyss  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand.  And  he  laid  hold  on  the 
dragon,  the  old  serpent,  which  is  the  devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound  him 
for  a  thousand  years,  and  cast  him  into  the  abyss,  and  shut  it,  and 
sealed  it  over  him,  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no  more,  until 
the  thousand  years  should  be  finished  :  after  this  he  must  be  loosed 
for  a  little  time.  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and 
judgment  was  given  unto  them  :  and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  had 
been  beheaded  for  the  testimon}^  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  such  as  worshipped  not  the  beast,  neither  his  image,  and  received 
not  the  mark  upon  their  forehead  and  upon  their  hand  ;  and  they 
lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years.  The  rest  of  the 
dead  lived  not  until  the  thousand  years  should  be  finished.  This  is 
the  first  resurrection.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the 
first  resurrection :  over  these  the  second  death  hath  no  authority,  but 
ihey  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  Him 


^  Chap.  xix.  21.  '  Chap.  xx.  9. 


XX.  i-io.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  337 


a  thousand  years.  And  when  the  thousand  years  are  finished,  Satan 
sha'l  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison,  and  shall  come  forth  to  deceive  the 
nations  which  are  in  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,  to 
gather  them  together  to  the  war :  the  number  of  whom  is  as  the  sand 
of  the  sea.  And  they  went  up  over  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  com- 
passed the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city  :  and  fire 
came  down  out -of  heaven,  and  devoured  them.  And  the  devil  that 
deceived  them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  where  are 
also  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet;  and  they  shall  be  tormented 
day  and  night  for  ever  and  ever  (xx.  l-io). 

It  is  impossible  within  the  limits  of  a  commentary 
such  as  the  present  to  discuss  the  different  interpreta- 
tions that  have  been  given  to  a  passage  so  difficult  and 
so  much  contrc  verted  as  the  above.  Nothing  more 
can  be  attempted  than  to  state  briefly  what  seems  to 
be  the  true  meaning  of  the  sacred  writer,  together 
with  the  grounds  upon  which  the  interpretation  to  be 
suggested  rests. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  that  interpretation,  to 
be  kept  clearly  and  resolutely  in  view,  is  this  :  that  the 
thousand  years  mentioned  in  the  passage  express  no 
period  of  time.  They  are  not  a  figure  for  the  whole 
Christian  era,  now  extending  to  nearly  nineteen  hundred 
years.  Nor  do  they  denote  a  certain  space  of  time, 
longer  or  shorter,  it  may  be,  than  the  definite  number 
of  years  spoken  of,  at  the  close  of  the  present  dispen- 
sation, and  to  be  in  the  view  of  some  preceded,  in  the 
view  of  others  followed,  by  the  second  Advent  of  our 
Lord.  They  embody  an  idea ;  and  that  idea,  whether 
applied  to  the  subjugation  of  Satan  or  to  the  triumph 
of  the  saints,  is  the  idea  of  completeness  or  perfection. 
Satan  is  bound  for  a  thousand  years;  that  is,  he  is 
completely  bound.  The  saints  reign  for  a  thousand 
years;  that  is,  they  are  introduced  into  a  state  of 
perfect  and  glorious  victory.     Before  endeavouring  to 

22 


338  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


bring  out  this  thought  more  fully,  several  preliminary 
considerations  may  be  noticed. 

I.  Years  may  be  understood  in  this  sense.  In 
Ezek.  xxxix.  9  it  is  said  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  of  Israel  shall  prevail  against  the  enemies 
described,  and  "  shall  go  forth,  and  shall  make  fires 
of  the  weapons  and  burn  them,  both  the  shields  and 
the  bucklers,  the  bows  and  the  arrows,  and  the  hand- 
staves,  and  the  spears,  and  they  shall  make  fires  of 
them  seven  years."  No  one  can  suppose  that  the 
''seven  years"  here  spoken  of  are  to  be  literally  under- 
stood, or  even  that  the  length  of  time  which  would  be 
needed  to  burn  the  weapons  is  the  thought  upon  which 
the  prophet  dwells.  His  meaning,  in  correspondence 
with  the  use  of  the  number  seven,  can  only  be  that 
these  weapons  shall  be  destroyed  with  a  great  and 
complete  destruction.  Again,  in  the  same  chapter,  at 
ver.  12,  after  the  defeat  of  "Gog  and  all  his  multitude," 
it  is  said,  "  And  seven  months  shall  the  house  of  Israel 
be  burying  of  them,  that  they  may  cleanse  the  land." 
A  literal  interpretation  is  here  not  less  impossible  than 
in  the  case  of  the  burning  of  the  weapons  ;  nor  can 
the  meaning  be  exhausted  by  the  thought  that  a  long 
time  would  be  necessary  for  the  burying.  The  number 
"  seven "  must  have  its  due  force  assigned  to  it,  and 
the  prophet  can  only  mean  that  the  land  should  be 
thoroughly  cleansed  from  heathen  impurity.  The  use 
of  the  term  "years"  in  the  vision  before  us  seems  to 
be  exactly  similar;  and  the  probability  that  it  is  so 
rises  almost  to  certainty  when  we  observe  that,  as 
proved  by  the  vision  of  Gog  and  Magog  in  the  sub- 
sequent part  of  the  chapter,  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel 
is  before  the  Seer's  eye,  and  that  it  constitutes  the 
foundation  upon  which  his  whole  delineation  rests. 


xx.i-io.]  JUDGMENT  .OF  SATAN.  339 

The  only  difficulty  connected  with  this  view  is  that 
in  the  third  verse  of  the  chapter  Satan  is  said  to  have 
been  shut  into  the  abyss  until  the  thousand  years  should 
be  ftmshedy  and  that  in  the  seventh  verse  we  read,  And 
when  the  thousand  years  are  finished,  Satan  shall  be  loosed. 
But  the  difficulty  is  more  specious  than  real.  Let  us 
familiarise  ourselves  with  the  thought  that  the  thousand 
years  may  simply  express  completeness,  thorough- 
ness, either  of  defeat  or  victory ;  let  us  remember 
that  the  Seer  had  represented  the  defeat  of  Satan  by 
the  figure  of  being  bound  for  a  thousand  years ;  finally, 
let  us  notice,  as  we  have  yet  to  see  more  fully,  that 
Satan,  although  deprived  of  power  over  the  righteous, 
is  still  to  be  the  deceiver  and  ruler  of  the  wicked  :  and 
it  immediately  follows  that  this  latter  thought  could 
find  no  more  appropriate  form  than  in  the  statement 
that  the  deception  took  place,  not  ^'  until,"  or  '*  after," 
the  thousand  years  should  be  finished.  This  is  simply 
the  carrying  out  of  the  symbolism  already  employed. 
To  revert  for  a  moment  to  the  symbolism  of  Ezekiel, 
let  us  suppose  that,  after  the  prophet  had  described  the 
burning  of  the  weapons  for  "  seven  years,"  he  had 
wished  to  mention  also  some  other  step  by  which  the 
burning  was  to  be  followed.  What  more  suitable  words 
could  he  have  used  than  that  it  took  place  either  "  after 
this,"  or  ''  after  the  seven  years  were  finished  "  ?  In 
point  of  fact,  this  is  exactly  what  the  prophet  does.  He 
has  occasion  to  refer  to  further  efforts  made  to  secure 
the  purity  of  the  land ;  and  the  words  employed  by  him 
are,  ''  After  the  end  of  seven  months  shall  they  search."^ 
The  one  expression  is  no  more  than  the  natural  con- 
sequence of  the  other. 

*  Ezek.  xxxix.  14, 


340  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

2.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  last  words  of  the 
third  verse  of  the  chapter, — He  (i.e.,  Satan)  must  be 
loosed  for  a  little  time?  What  is  this  'Mittle  time"? 
The  words  take  us  directly  to  that  conception  of  the 
Christian  age  which  is  so  intimately  interwoven  with 
the  structure  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  even  of  the  whole 
New  Testament, — that  it  is  all  "  a  little  time."  This 
is  particularly  apparent  in  the  application  of  the  very 
same  words  to  the  souls  under  the  altar  in  chap.  vi.  1 1  : 
"  And  it  was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet 
for  a  little  time,  until  their  fellow-servants  also  and 
their  brethren,  which  should  be  killed  even  as  they 
were,  should  be  fulfilled."  The  "  little  time  "  there  is 
undeniably  that  extending  from  the  moment  of  the 
vision  to  the  close  of  the  present  dispensation.  But, 
i{  it  be  so  there,  we  are  entitled  to  suppose  that  the 
very  same  expression,  when  used  in  the  passage  before 
us,  will  be  used  in  the  same  sense  ;  and  that,  when  it 
is  said  Satan  shall  be  loosed  *^for  a  little  time,"  the 
meaning  is  that  he  shall  be  loosed  for  the  whole 
Christian  age.  Again,  in  chap.  xii.  12  we  read,  *^  The 
devil  is  gone  down  unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  know- 
ing that  he  hath  but  a  short  time."  The  ''  short  time  " 
here  referred  to  begins  with  the  casting  down  of  the 
devil  out  of  heaven  into  the  earth  spoken  of  in  the 
ninth  verse  of  the  same  chapter.  It  must  therefore 
include  the  whole  period  of  his  action  in  this  world ; 
and  the  manner  in  which  that  period  is  designated 
corresponds  closely  with  the  description  of  the  time 
during  which  he  is  said,  in  chap,  xx.,  to  be  loosed. 
Again,  in  chap.  x.  6  the  angel  swears  that  there  shall 
be  "time"  no  longer,  using  the  same  word  for  time 
that  we  meet  with  in  the  verse  now  under  considera- 
tion ;    so  that  it  would  appear  as  if  to  the  author  of 


XX.  I -10]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  341 

the  Apocal3^pse  the  word  "time"  were  a  kind  of 
technical  term  by  which  he  was  accustomed  to  denote 
the  period  of  the  Church's  probation  in  tiiis  world. 
Lastly,  this  conclusion  is  powerfully  confirmed  by  the 
many  passages  of  the  Apocalypse  in  which  it  is  clear 
that  the  Christian  dispensation,  from  its  beginning  to  its 
end,  is  looked  upon  as  a  '^  very  little  while,"  as  hastening 
to  its  final  issue,  and  as  about  to  be  closed  by  One  who 
cometh  quickly.-^  The  "  little  time,"  therefore,  of  the 
present  chapter  during  which  Satan  is  loosed,  and 
which,  when  more  fully  dwelt  upon,  is  the  time  of  the 
war  spoken  of  in  vers.  7-9,  is  the  historical  period  of 
the  Christian  dispensation,  during  which  Satan  is  per- 
mitted to  deceive  the  nations  and  to  lead  them  against 
the  camp  of  the  saints  and  the  beloved  city.  It  is,  in 
short,  the  time  between  the  first  and  second  coming 
of  our  Lord.  The  period  so  often  sought  in  the 
thousand  years  of  ver.  2  is  really  to  be  found  in  the 
*'  little  time"  of  ver.  3. 

3.  Attention  ought  to  be  particularly  directed  to  the 
condition  of  the  saints  during  the  thousand  years 
spoken  of.  It  is  described  in  general  terms  as  a  first 
restirreciion.  Certain  words  of  our  Lord  in  the  Gospel 
of  St.  John  throw  important  light  upon  the  meaning 
of  this  expression  :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
The  hour  com.eth,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  :  and  they  that  have 
heard  shall  live,"  ^  and,  again,  a  little  later  in  the  same 
discourse,  "  Marvel  not  at  this  :  for  the  hour  cometh, 
in  which  all  that  are  in  the  tombs  shall  hear  His  voice, 
and    shall   come    forth."  ^     Let  us  compare    these  two 

'  Chaps,  i.  3,  ii.  16,  iii.  20,  xxii.  20,  etc. ;  I  Cor.  vii.  29 ;  Heb.  x.  37, 

*  John  V.  25. 

•  John  V.  28. 


342  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

verses  with  one  another,  and  the  presence  of  the  clause 
"  and  now  is "  in  the  first,  taken  along  with  its 
omission  in  the  second,  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  the 
principle  on  which  they  are  to  be  interpreted.  The 
first  refers  to  a  spiritual,  the  second  to  a  bodily, 
resurrection.  Here  then  in  the  words  of  our  Lord 
Himself  we  have  the  source  whence  the  idea  of  the 
"  first  resurrection  "  of  the  Apocalypse  is  derived.  It 
is  not  an  actual  resurrection  from  the  grave,  although 
that  resurrection  is  potentially  involved  in  it.  It  is  a 
spiritual  resurrection  in  an  hour  "that  now  is;"  and 
the  fact  that  this  is  St.  John's  meaning  is  brought 
out  still  more  clearly  by  the  intimation  that  what  he 
saw  was  souJs^  whose  resurrection  bodies  had  not  yet 
been  given  them.^ 

The  condition  of  the  saints  thought  of  in  this  vision 
is  described,  however,  not  only  generally,  but  in  various 
particulars,  all  of  which,  it  will  be  seen,  correspond  with 
the  apocalyptic  idea  of  it  even  in  a  present  world. 
And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them.  But  we 
have  been  already  told  that  "  they  reign  over  the 
earth."  ^  Judgment  was  given  ttnfo  them,  words  which 
seem  best  understood  in  the  sense,  so  peculiar  to  St. 
John,  that  for  believers  there  is  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term  no  judgment.  As  they  have  passed  through 
death,  so  also  they  have  passed  through  judgmient.^ 
They  lived  ivith  Christ.  But  Christ  Himself  had  said  in 
the  Gospel,  "  Because  I  live,  and  ye  shall  live."  *  They 
reigned  with  Christ.  But  that  is  only  another  method 
of  saying   that   they  sat  on  thrones,  with    the  added 

*  Comp.  chap.  vi.  9. 

*  Chap.  V.  10. 

"  Comp.  the  teaching  of  cur  Lord  in  John  xi.  25,  26,  and  v,  24. 

*  John  xiv.  19  (margin  of  R.V.), 


xx.i-io.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  343 

conception,  so  often  associated  with  the  word  in  the 
Apocalypse,  that  their  enemies  were  bruised  beneath 
their  feet.  Over  these  the  second  death  hath  no  authority. 
But  we  have  before  been  told  of  "  him  that  over- 
cometh"  that  "he  shall  not  be  hurt  of  the  second 
death."  ^  Finally,  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of 
Christ.  But  it  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  fact  that 
from  the  opening  of  this  book  such  has  always  been 
spoken  of  as  the  position  of  believers. 

Nothing,  in  short,  is  said  of  the  saints  of  God  in 
this  picture  of  millennial  bliss  that  does  not  find  a 
parallel  in  what  the  Seer  has  elsewhere  written  of 
their  present  life.  On  not  a  few  different  occasions 
their  ideal  condition  in  this  world  is  set  forth  in  as 
glowing  terms  as  is  their  thousand  years'  glory  and  joy. 

One  expression  may  indeed  startle  us.  What  the 
Seer  beheld  is  said  to  have  been  the  souls  of  them  that 
had  been  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  for  the 
word  of  God.  Is  the  word  ''  beheaded  "  to  be  literally 
understood  ?  Then  a  very  small  number  of  martyrs 
can  be  thought  of.  The  great  majority  of  those  who 
have  died  for  the  faith  of  Jesus  have  been  martyred 
in  other  and  more  dreadful  ways.  The  word  is  the 
counterpart  of  ''  slaughtered  "  in  the  vision  of  the  souls 
under  the  altar.^  These  were  the  saints  of  the  Old 
Testament,  whose  death  is  described  by  a  term  cha- 
racteristic to  the  Jewish  mind  of  the  mode  in  which 
offerings  were  presented  to  God.  When  the  Seer 
passes  to  the  thought  of  the  great  Gentile  Church,  he 
uses  a  term  more  appropriate  to  the  Gentile  method  of 
terminating  human  life.  "  Beheaded "  therefore  ex- 
presses the  same  thing  as  '^  slaughtered."     Both  words 

^  Chap.  ii.  II.  2  Chap.  vi.  9, 


344  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

refer  to  martyrdom ;  and  both  include  all  faithful  ones 
in  the  d'spansations  to  which  they  respectively  belong, 
for  in  the  eyes  of  St.  John  all  the  disciples  of  a  martyred 
Lord  are  martyrs/ 

4.  The  meaning  of  the  doom  inflicted  upon  Satan 
demands  our  notice.  And  the  angel  laid  hold  on  the 
dragon,  the  old  serpent^  which  is  the  devil,  and  Satan, 
and  bound  him  for  a  thousand  years,  and  cast  him  into 
the  abyss,  and  shut  it,  and  sealed  it  over  him.  It  is 
hardly  possible  to  read  these  words,  at  the  same  time 
remembering  St.  John's  love  of  contrast  or  even  travesty, 
and  not  to  see  in  them  a  mocking  counterpart  of  the 
death  and  burial  of  Jesus,  when  the  stone  was  rolled 
to  the  door  of  the  sepulchre  and  sealed.  If  so,  it  is 
not  enough  to  say  that  by  the  infliction  of  this  doom 
the  power  of  Satan  was  restrained,  and  his  influence 
lessened.  Much  more  must  be  implied ;  and  the 
language  can  only  mean  that,  in  one  sense  or  another, 
Satan  was  rendered  powerless  and  harmless,  as  unable 
to  act  his  part  as  though  he  had  been  laid  in  the 
grave. 

5.  The  use  of  numbers  in  the  Apocalypse  ought  to  be 
remembered.  These  numbers  are  invariably  symbolical ; 
and,  if  the  number  a  thousand  is  to  be  here  interpreted 
literally,  it  seems  in  that  respect  to  stand  alone.  Nor 
is  it  a  reply  to  this  to  say  that,  though  not  in  the  strict 
sense  literal,  it  may  signify  a  period  of  indefinite  length. 
Such  an  interpretation  would  be  not  less  opposed  than 
the  former  to  the  genius  and  spirit  of  this  book.  The 
numbers  of  the  Apocalypse  have  always  a  definite 
meaning.  They  express  ideas,  but  the  ideas  are  dis- 
tinct.    They  may  belong  to  a  region  of  thought  different 

'  Cornp.  p.  102. 


XX.  i-io.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  345 

from  that  with  which  arithmetical  numbers  are  con- 
cerned, but  within  that  region  we  cannot  change  their 
value  without  at  the  same  time  changing  the  thought. 
We  are  not  to  imagine  that  numbers,  in  the  allegorical 
or  spiritual  use  made  of  them  by  the  Jews,  might  be 
tossed  about  at  their  pleasure  or  shuffled  like  a  pack  of 
cards.  They  were  a  language ;  and  the  bond  between 
them  and  the  ideas  that  they  involved  was  quite  as  close 
as  it  is  between  the  words  of  ordinary  speech  and  the 
speaker's  thoughts.  A  thousand  years  cannot  mean 
two,  or  ten,  or  twenty,  or  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
thousand  years  according  as  we  please.  If  they  are 
a  measure  of  time,  the  measure  must  be  fixed  ;  and  we 
ought  to  be  able  to  explain  the  principle  leading  us  to 
attach  to  the  number  one  thousand  a  value  different 
from  that  which  it  naturally  possesses. 

6.  The  teaching  of  Scripture  elsewhere  upon  this 
subject  has  to  be  considered.  Upon  this  point  it  is 
unnecessary  to  say  much,  for  the  difference  between 
that  teaching  and  any  view  commonly  taken  of  the 
thousand  years'  reign  is  acknowledged.  It  ought  to  be 
observed,  however,  that  this  difference  is  not  merely 
negative,  as  if  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament  simply 
failed  to  fill  in  certain  details  of  events  more  largely 
described  in  the  Apocalypse,  but  upon  the  whole  sub- 
stantially the  same.  The  difference  is  also  positive, 
and  in  some  respects  irreconcilable  with  what  we  are 
taught  by  the  other  sacred  writers.  The  New  Testa- 
ment, unless  this  passage  be  an  exception,  always 
brings  the  Parousia  and  the  general  judgment  into 
the  closest  possible  connexion.  It  nowhere  interposes 
a  lengthened  period  between  the  resurrection  of  be- 
lievers and  that  of  unbelievers.  It  knows  only  of  one, 
and  that  a  general,   resurrection  ;    and   the    passages, 


346  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

such  as  I  Cor.  xv.  23,  24,  and  I  Thess.  iv.  16,  17, 
usually  quoted  to  support  another  conclusion,  fail 
when  correctly  interpreted  to  do  so.  When  our  Lord 
comes  again,  He  at  once  perfects  the  happiness  of  His 
saints  and  makes  all  His  enemies  His  footstool.-^  One 
text  alone  may  be  quoted  upon  this  point.  While  the 
"first  resurrection"  is  assigned  to  a  date  a  thousand 
or  even  thousands  of  years  before  the  end,  it  is  several 
times  repeated  in  the  discourse  of  Jesus  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  St.  John  that  the  resurrection  of  believers 
takes  place  at  the  "  last  day."^ 

7.  One  other  consideration  may  be  kept  in  view. 
It  would  appear  that  about  the  time  of  the  Advent  of 
our  Lord  there  was  a  widely  extended  opinion  among 
the  Jews,  traces  of  which  are  also  to  be  found  among 
the  Gentiles,  that  a  golden  age  of  a  thousand  years' 
duration  might  be  anticipated  in  the  future  as  a  happy 
close  to  all  the  sins  and  miseries  of  the  world.^  Here, 
it  is  sometimes  urged,  is  the  source  of  the  apocalyptic 
figure  of  this  chapter,  which  thus  becomes  only  one 
of  the  v/ild  chiliastic  expectations  of  the  time.  But, 
even  if  it  be  allowed  that  St.  John  drew  the  particular 
figure  employed  by  him  from  a  general  belief  of  his  age, 
it  by  no  means  follow^s  that  he  accepted  the  literal  inter- 
pretation of  that  belief  as  the  reality  and  substance  of 
prophetic  hope.  In  many  a  passage  of  his  book  he  has 
undeniably  spirituahsed  hopes  of  Israel  founded  on  the 
language  of  the  Old  Testament  in  its  outward  form.  He 
might  easily  do  the  same  with  what  he  recognised  as  a 

'  Matt.  XXV.  31-46;  Rom.  ii.  5,  7;  I  Thess.  iv.  17;  2  Thess.  i. 
7  10. 

2  John  yi.  39,  40,  44. 

^  See  authorities  in  Lee  {Speaker s  Connvisntayy)  on  Rev.  xx.  2,  and 
his  excursus  on  that  chapter. 


XX.  i-io.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  347 

belief  not  less  widely  spread  and  not  less  deeply  seated 
in  both  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  portions  of  the  Church. 
To  use  the  language  of  the  late  Archdeacon  Lee,  "  a 
world-wide  belief  such  as  this  naturally  supplied  St. 
John  with  symbols  and  with  language  wherein  to  clothe 
his  revelation  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Church,  just  as 
he  has  employed  for  the  same  purpose  the  details  of 
the  theocracy,  or  the  imagery  of  war,  or  the  pheno- 
mena and  the  convulsions  of  nature."  ^  In  all  such 
cases  the  determination  of  the  point  at  issue  really 
rests  upon  our  view  of  the  general  tone  of  the  writing 
in  which  the  difficulty  occurs,  and  on  our  perception 
of  what  will  give  the  unity  and  harmony  to  his  words 
for  which  every  intelligent  writer  is  entitled  to  expect 
credit  at  his  reader's  hands.  This  conclusion  is  in 
the  present  instance  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 
St.  John  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  traditional 
belief  he  is  said  to  have  adopted.  So  far  from  doing 
so,  he  occupies  himself  chiefly  with  a  picture  of  that 
overthrow  of  Satan  which  seems  to  have  been  no  part 
of  the  belief,  and  the  mould  of  which  is  taken  from 
entirely  different  sources. 

Putting  together  the  different  considerations  now 
adduced,  we  can  have  but  little  difficulty  in  under- 
standing either  the  binding  of  Satan  or  the  reign  of 
the  saints  for  a  thousand  years.  The  vision  describes 
no  period  of  blessedness  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  Church 
at  the  close  of  the  present  dispensation.  Alike  nega- 
tively and  positively  we  have  simply  an  ideal  picture 
of  results  effected  by  the  Redeemer  for  His  people, 
when  for' them  He  lived,  and  suffered,  and  died,  and 
rose  again.     Thus  He  bound  Satan  for  them ;  He  cast 

'  Speaker  s  Coiniiicniary,  u.s. 


348  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

him  into  the  abyss  ;  He  shut  him  in  ;  He  sealed  the 
abyss  over  him, —  so  that  against  them  he  can  effect 
nothing.  He  is  a  bruised  and  conquered  foe.  He 
may  war  against  them,  afflict  them,  persecute  them, 
kill  them,  but  their  true  life  is  beyond  his  reach. 
Already  they  live  a  resurrection  and  ascended  life, 
for  it  is  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  a  life  in  that 
"  heaven "  from  which  the  devil  has  been  finally  and 
for  ever  expelled.  They  rest  upon,  they  live  in, 
a  risen  and  glorified  Redeemer ;  and,  whatever  be  the 
age,  or  country,  or  circumstances  in  which  their  lot 
is  cast,  they  sit  with  their  Lord  in  the  heavenly  places 
and  share  His  victory.  He  has  been  always  trium- 
phant, and  in  His  triumph  His  people  even  now  have 
part.  The  glory  which  the  Father  gave  the  Son  the 
Son  has  given  them.^  They  cannot  sin,  because  they 
are  begotten  of  God.^  He  that  was  begotten  of  God 
keepeth  them,  and  the  evil  one  toucheth  them  not.' 
This  is  the  reign  of  a  thousand  years,  and  it  is  the 
portion  of  every  believer  who  in  any  age  of  the  Church 
shares  the  life  of  his  risen  and  exalted  Lord. 

Thus  also  we  may  comprehend  what  is  meant  by 
the  loosing  of  Satan.  There  is  no  point  in  the  future 
at  which  he  is  to  be  loosed.  He  has  been  already 
loosed.  Hardly  was  he  completely  conquered  for 
the  saints  before  he  was  loosed  for  the  world.  He 
was  loosed  as  a  great  adversary  who,  however  he 
may  persecute  the  children  of  God,  cannot  touch  their 
inner  life,  and  who  can  only  *'  deceive  the  nations," 
— the  nations  that  have  despised  and  rejected  Christ. 
He  has  never  been  really  absent  from  the  earth. 
He    has    gone    about    continually,   ''  knowing   that   he 


John  xvii.  22.  ^  l  John  iii.  9.  ^  I  John  v.  18. 


XX.  i-io.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  349 

hath  but  a  short  time."^  But  he  is  unable  to  hurt 
those  who  are  kept  in  the  hollow  of  the  Lord's  hand. 
No  doubt  he  tries  it.  That  is  the  meaning  of  the 
description  extending  from  the  seventh  to  the  ninth 
verse  of  this  chapter, — the  meaning  of  the  war  which 
Satan  carries  on  against  the  camp  of  the  saints  and 
the  beloved  city  when  the  thousand  years  are  finished. 
In  other  words,  no  sooner  was  Satan,  as  regards  the 
saints,  completely  bound  than,  as  regards  the  w^orld, 
he  was  loosed  ;  and  from  that  hour,  through  all  the 
past  history  of  Christianity,  he  has  been  stirring  up 
the  world  against  the  Church.  He  has  been  summon- 
ing the  nations  that  are  in  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth,  Gog  and  Magog,  to  gather  them  together  to  the 
w^ar.  They  war,  but  they  do  not  conquer,  until  at  last 
fire  comes  down  out  of  heaven  and  devours  them. 
The  devil  that  deceived  them  is  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire 
and  brimstone,  where  are  also  the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet ;  and  they  shall  be  tormented  day  and  night  for 
ever  and  ever. 

Th^  whole  picture  of  the  thousand  years  is  in  its 
main  features — in  the  binding  of  Satan,  in  the  securit}^ 
and  blessedness  of  the  righteous,  and  in  the  loosing 
of  Satan  for  the  war — a  striking  parallel  to  the  scenes 
in  chap.  xii.  of  this  book.  There  Michael  and  his  angels 
contended  with  the  devil  and  his  angels ;  and  the  latter 
"prevailed  not,"  ^  but  were  cast  out  of  heaven  into 
the  earth,  so  that  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  are  for 
ever  safe  from  them.  There  the  man-child  who  is  to 
rule  all  the  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  from  tsie 
thought   of    whom   it   is    impossible    to    separate   the 

*  Chap.  xii.  12. 

*  Comp.  the  remarkable  parallel  in  John  i.  5:  "and  the  darkness 
overcame  it  not." 


350  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

thought  of  those  who  are  one  with  Him,  is  caught 
up  unto  God  and  unto  His  throne.  Finally,  there  also 
the  dragon,  though  unable  really  to  hurt  the  saints, 
"  the  rest  of  the  woman's  seed,"  makes  war  upon 
them,  but  without  result.  Of  this  scene  the  picture 
which  we  have  been  considering  is  at  once  a  repetition 
and  a  fuller  development ;  and,  when  we  call  to  mind 
the  peculiarities  marking  the  structure  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, we  seem  in  this  fact  alone  to  have  no  slight 
evidence  of  the  correctness  of  the  interpretation  now 
proposed.-^ 

'  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  difficulties  attend  the  interpretation 
of  the  thousand  j-ears  suggested  in  the  text.  The  writer  would 
advert  in  a  note  to  the  two  which  appear  to  him  to  be  the  most 
formidable. 

I.  In  ver.  3  we  read  that  Satan  was  cast  into  the  abyss,  etc.,  "  that 
he  should  deceive  the  nations  no  more,  until  the  fhousand  years 
should  be  finished."  Let  it  be  granted  that  "  the  nations "  here 
referred  to  can  hardly  be  understood  in  any  other  sense  than  that 
common  in  the  Apocalypse :  the  heathen,  the  ungodly,  nations  or  the 
wicked  in  general.  We  then  seem  to  read  that  there  must  be  a  time 
during  which  Satan  does  not  "  deceive  the  nations,"  while  the  ex- 
planation given  above  has  been  that  he  was  no  sooner  subjugated 
for  the  righteous  than  he  was  let  loose  to  deceive  the  unrighteous. 
In  his  Lectures  on  the  Revelation  of  St.  John  (p.  224,  note)  the  author 
was  disposed  to  plead  that  the  words  in  question  may  not  have  been 
intended  to  indicate  that  action  on  Satan's  part  was  for  a  time  to 
cease,  but  rather  to  bring  out  and  express  that  aspect  of  Satan  by 
which  he  is  specially  distinguished  in  the  Apocal3'pse.  In  deference 
to  the  criticism  of  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Reynolds  {Remarks  on  Dr. 
Milligans  Interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse,  pp.  9,  27),  he  would  yield 
this  point.  Notwithstanding  the  irregular  constructions  of  the 
Apocalj^pse,  it  is  at  least  precarious  ;  and  it  is  better  to  leave  a  difficulty 
unsolved,  especially  in  a  case  where  difficulties  surround  every  inter- 
pretation yet  offered,  than  to  propose  solutions  of  the  sufficiency  of 
which  even  the  proposer  is  doubtful.  It  may  be  asked,  however, 
without  resorting  to  the  conjecture  formerly  thrown  out,  whether  the 
words  "that  he  should  deceive,"  even  when  taken  in  what  is  said  to 
be  their  only  true  sense,  are  irreconcilable  with  the  view  of  the  thou- 


XX  i-io.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  351 

The   three   great    enemies  of  the   Church  have    not 
only  been  overcome,  but  judged,  and  for  ever  removed 


sand  years  advocated  in  this  comm'^ntary.  That  view  is  that  the 
subjugation  of  Satan  for  a  thousand  years  means  his  complete  subju- 
gation. When,  therefore,  it  is  said  that  he  has  been  so  shut  up  as 
"  to  deceive  the  nations  no  more,  until  the  thousand  years  should  be 
finished,"  the  meaning  may  simply  be  that  in  the  act  of  being  subjected 
he  was  deprived  alike  of  authority  and  opportunity  to  deceive  the 
nations.  It  lay  within  the  pov/er  of  the  Conqueror  to  grant  or  not 
to  grant  him  fresh  liberty  to  do  so.  Ihe  "strong  man  "  was  then 
bound,  and  "  his  goods  were  5->poiled."  He  was  completely  subjected 
to  Christ.  When,  therefore,  we  are  told  of  the  thousand  years  during 
which  he  was  to  deceive  the  nations  no  more,  this  language  is  only 
the  continuation  of  the  figure  used  in  the  second  verse  of  the  chapter; 
and  what  the  Seer  intends  to  express  is,  that  during  the  process  of 
his  subjection,  and  until  he  should  be  again  loosed  by  Him  who  had 
subjected  him,  he  could  do  nothing.  Satan,  in  short,  must  be  per- 
mitted to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss  either  in  his  own  person  or  by  his 
agents  before  he  can  disturb  the  earth  (comp.  chap.  ix.  2)  ;  and  it  is 
the  purpose  of  God  that  he  shall  not  have  power  to  disturb  it  until, 
having  been  really  "  brought  to  nought  "by  Christ  (comp.  Heb.  ii.  14), 
he  shall  go  forth  to  his  evil  work  among  the  nations  as  one  who, 
whatever  may  be  the  increase  of  his  wrath  (comp.  chap.  xii.  12),  has 
yet  been  overcome  by  another  far  mightier  than  himself. 

2.  The  second  difficulty  demanding  notice  is  presented  by  the 
words  of  ver.  5,  "The  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  until  the  thousand 
years  should  be  finished."  Who  are  these  called  "the  rest  of  the 
dead,"  and  in  what  sense  did  they  "live"?  The  term  "the  rest," 
applied  to  persons,  occurs  in  the  following  passages  of  the  Apocalypse 
in  addition  to  that  before  us  :  chaps,  ii.  24,  ix.  20,  xi.  13,  xii.  17,  xIk. 
21.  In  every  one  of  these  cases  it  refers  to  the  remaining  portion  of  a 
class  mentioned,  but  not  exhausted ;  and  it  cannot  be  extended  to  any 
class  beyond  them.  Here,  however,  no  class  has  been  spoken  of 
except  the  righteous,  or  rather  the  "souls"  of  the  righteous,  described 
by  various  particulars  both  of  their  character  and  their  state.  "The 
rest"  of  the  dead  must  therefore  '  elong  to  that  class,  and  to  it  alone. 
They  cannot  be  the  general  body  of  mankind,  both  good  and  bad, 
with  the  exception  of  those  previously  mentioned.  Again,  what  is 
meant  when  it  is  said  that  the  rest  of  the  dead  "lived"?  The  . 
same  word  had  occurred  in  the  immediately  preceding  verse,  and  it 
must  now  be  understood  in  the  same  sense.     "  If,"  says  Dean  Alford, 


352  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

from  all  possibility  of  troubling   the  righteous  more. 
But  the  great  mass  of  the  wicked  have  not  yet  been 


who  has  been  quoted  with  great  confidence  against  the  present 
writer  (Re3'nolds,  m.s.,  p.  23),  "in  such  a  passage  the  first  resurrec- 
tion may  be  understood  to  mean  spiritual  rising  with  Christ,  while 
the  second  means  literal  rising  from  tlie  grave,  then  there  is  an  end 
of  all  significance  in  language  ;  and  Scripture  is  wiped  out  as  a  definite 
testimony  to  anything.  If  the  first  resurrection  is  spiritual,  then  so  is 
the  second,  which  I  suppose  none  will  be  hardy  enough  to  maintain  " 
(on  Rev.  xx.  4-6).  Now  thit  is  exactly  what  is  here  maintained. 
The  "lived"  of  ver.  4  is  spiritual;  the  "lived"  of  ver.  5  is  also 
spiritual.  The  "  rest  of  the  dead  "  then  are  the  Old  Testament  saints 
of  chap.  vi.  9,  who,  by  the  completion  of  the  Lord's  redeeming  work, 
were  brought  up  to  the  level  of  the  New  Testament  Church  (comp 
p.  loi).  The  meaning  of  chap.  xx.  5  may  thus  be  said  to  be  that,  the 
New  Testament  Church  having  had  j/?rs/  bestowed  upon  it  a  complete 
redemption,  the  same  white  robes  were  afterwards  given  to  the  Old 
Testament  Church,  the  succession  being  again  one  of  thought  rather 
than  time.  In  this  way  all  the  members  of  Christ's  body  are  marked 
out  as  having  been  "  dead  "  before  they  lived,  thus  identifying  them 
with  their  Lord  in  chap.  i.  18;  the  position  of  the  words  at  the  close 
of  ver.  5,  "this  is  the  first  resurrection,"  is  rendered  more  natural  by 
their  thus  following  what  is  wholly  a  description  of  the  condition  of 
the  blessed,  instead  of  having  a  sentence  interposed  of  an  entirely 
different  character;  and,  finally,  to  say  nothing  of  the  contextual  con- 
siderations alread}'^  referred  to,  the  full  Johannine  force  of  the  word 
"lived  "  is  preserved. 

These  answers  to  the  two  chief  difficulties  associated  with  the 
interpretation  here  suggested  of  the  thousand  years  may  not  be 
satisfactory  to  all ;  but  it  is  submitted  that  they  go  far  at  least  to 
meet  them,  and  that  in  themselves  they  are  neither  unfair  nor  strained. 
Against  one  thing  only  must  the  author  of  this  commentary  enter 
his  most  decided  protest, — the  allegation  that  the  interpretation  here 
offered  is  gained  by  dispensing  with  textual  criticism  (?)  and  by 
sacrificing  grammar  to  an  idea.  If  there  be  one  ground  more  than 
another  upon  which  it  rests,  it  is  upon  the  strictest  principles  of 
historical  interpretation.  It  ought  only  to  be  remembered  that  the 
idiosyncrasies  of  an  author  are  as  much  a  part  of  such  interpretation 
as  the  literal  meaning  of  his  words ;  and  that  to  that  interpretation, 
if  honestly  and  thoroughly  c  uducted,  the  most  deeply  ingrained 
prejudices  will  in  due  time  be  compelled  to  submit. 


X.  II-I5.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  353 

overtaken  by  a  similar  fate.     The  time  has  now  come 
to  show  us  in  vision  what  awaits  them  also  : — 

And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  Him  that  sat  upon  it,  from 
whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away ;  and  there  was  found 
no  place  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  the  great  and  the  small, 
standing  before  the  throne;  and  books  were  opened:  and  another 
book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life  :  and  the  dead  were 
judged  out  of  the  things  which  were  written  in  the  books,  according 
to  their  works.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it ;  and 
death  and  Hades  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them  :  and  they 
were  judged  every  man  according  to  their  works.  And  death  and 
Hades  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is  the  second  death,  even 
the  lake  of  fire.  And  if  any  was  not  found  written  in  the  book  of 
life,  he  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  (xx.  II-15). 

Upon  various  particulars  mentioned  in  this  passage 
it  is  unnecessary  to  say  much.  The  throne  beheld 
by  the  Seer  is  great,  at  once  in  contrast  with  the 
*'  thrones  "  of  the  millennial  reign,  and  as  befitting  the 
majesty  of  Him  who  sits  upon  it.  It  is  also  white,  as 
emblematic  of  His  purity  and  holiness.  The  Judge 
is  God,  the  Father  in  the  Son,  the  Son  in  the  Father  ; 
and  thas  tlie  judgment  is  searching  and  complete,  and 
is  answered  by  the  consciences  of  those  upon  whom 
it  is  executed.  They  see  that  the  Judge's  eye  pene- 
trates into  the  most  secret  recesses  of  their  hearts, 
and  that  He  is  One  who  has  been  in  the  same  position, 
has  fought  the  same  battle,  and  has  endured  the  same 
trials  as  themselves.  Thus  His  sentence  finds  an  echo 
in  their  hearts,  and  they  are  speechless.-^  Thus  also 
judgment  becomes  really  judgment,  and  not  merely 
the  infliction  of  punishment  by  resistless  power. 

The  effect  of  the  Judge's  taking  His  seat  upon  His 
throne  was  that  from  His  face  the  earth  and  the 
heaven  fled  away,  and  there  was  found  no  place  for 

•  Comp.  Matt.  xxii.  12. 


354  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATI0I7 . 

them.  Yet  we  are  not  to  understand  that  after 
their  flight  there  was  neither  an  earth  nor  a  heaven 
to  be  found.  It  is  only  the  old  earth  and  the  old 
heaven  that  are  spoken  of;  and  almost  immediately 
afterwards  the  Seer  exclaims,  "  I  saw  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth :  for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first 
earth  are  passed  away."^  The  change  is  part  of 
that  "  restoration  of  all  things "  of  which  St.  Peter 
spoke  to  the  multitude  gathered  together  in  Solomon's 
porch, ^  of  which  he  then  added,  ^'  Whereof  God  spake 
by  the  mouth  of  His  holy  prophets  which  have  been 
since  the  world  began,"  and  upon  which  he  dwelt 
more  fully  in  his  second  Epistle  when  he  said,  "  But 
the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief;  in  the  which 
the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and 
the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  and  the 
earth  and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burned 
up.  But,  according  to  His  promise,  we  look  for  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteous- 
ness." *  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  too,  "  creation  " 
longs,  not  for  destruction,  but  for  something  akin  to 
that  "  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God " 
which  they  shall  obtain  along  with  their  "  adoption, 
to  wit,  the  redemption  of  their  bodyT  *  In  all  these 
passages  it  is  not  the  translation  of  God's  saints  to 
an  immaterial  sphere  that  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the 
thought.  It  is  rather  the  idea  of  change,  of  the  trans- 
figuration, of  the  glorification,  of  this  present  scene 
into  a  state  corresponding  with  that  of  its  redeemed 
inhabitants,  when  they  shall  ''  not  be  unclothed,  but 
clothed  upon,"^  and  shall  dwell  in  ^'spiritual  bodics^^ 

*  Chap,  xxi.  I.  *  Rom.  viii.  21-23. 

2  Acts  iii.  21.  '2  Cor.  v.  4. 

"  2  Pet.  iii.  10,  13.  •  Comp.  i  Cor.  xv.  44. 


XX.  II-I5.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  355 

To  St.  John  '^  heaven "  is  not  an  abode  of  bliss  in 
a  scene  of  which  we  can  form  no  clear  conception, 
but  the  spiritual  atmosphere  in  which,  alike  on  this 
side  the  grave  and  on  the  other,  the  saints  live  and 
move.  The  *' dwellers  upon  earth"  are  not  those  who 
simply  tread  its  firm  soil  and  breathe  its  atmosphere, 
but  those  who  are  worldly  in  their  spirit  and  whose 
views  are  bounded  by  the  things  of  time.  The 
kingdom  which  Christ  establishes  is  the  '^  kingdom 
of  this  world"  in  its  cleansed  and  purified  condition 
rather  than  one  to  which  we  travel  by  long  and 
unknown  paths.  As  the  Seer  looks  forward  to  the 
future  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  he  thinks  of  any 
other  residence  for  man  than  that  which  the  Son  con- 
secrated by  His  tomb  in  Joseph's  garden  and  by  the 
glory  of  the  resurrection  morning ;  and  even  the  new 
Jerusalem  comes  down  out  of  heaven  to  be  estabhshed 
upon  earth. 

Many  may  doubtless  think  that  such  a  hope  is  too 
earthly,  too  material,  to  be  suited  to  the  spiritual  nature 
of  the  Christian  dispensation.  They  fear  that  it  has 
a  tendency  to  withdraw  us  from  Him  who  is  ''  spirit," 
and  who  must  be  worshipped,  if  He  is  to  be  wor- 
shipped acceptably,  **in  spirit  and  truth."  ^  But  any 
such  apprehension  is  at  variance  with  the  fundamental 
fact  of  our  Christian  faith,  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord, 
and  is  little  less  than  the  revival  of  the  old  Manichean 
heresy  that  matter  is  essentially  evil.  Two  errors  have 
existed,  and  may  exist,  in  the  Church  upon  this  point. 
We  may  strip  the  Gospel  of  its  spiritual  element,  and 
may  reduce  it  to  a  system  of  outward  and  material 
forms,  or  we  may  strip  it  of  its  material  element,  and 

*  John  iv.  24. 


356  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

may  resolve  it  into  a  vague  and  shadowy  m3^sticism. 
Both  are  the  errors  of  extremes,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  say  which  has  wrought  most  havoc  in  the 
Church.  If  the  one  was  disastrous  in  the  days  of  the 
supremacy  of  Romanism,  the  other  is  hardly  less  disas- 
trous now.  To  the  false  and  spurious  spiritualism 
which  it  engenders  we  owe  not  a  few  of  the  most 
serious  misconceptions  of  the  present  time  w^ith  regard 
to  the  person  of  Christ,  the  Church,  the  Sacraments, 
and  the  purpose  of  redemption  as  a  whole.^ 

To  return  to  the  main  question  in  connexion  with 
the  passage  before  us.  Does  it  present  us  w^th  the 
picture  of  a  general  judgment  or  of  a  judgment  of  the 
wicked  alone  ?  There  is  much  in  the  passage  that 
leads  distinctly  to  the  latter  conclusion. 

1.  The  whole  vision  is  obviously  an  enlargement  of 
what  we  have  already  met  under  the  seventh  Trumpet, 
when  it  was  said  that  ''  the  time  of  the  dead  to  be 
judged  came,"  ^  In  both  visions  the  persons  spoken  of 
as  *'  the  dead  "  must  be  the  same  ;  and  they  are  clearly 
distinguished  in  the  earlier  vision  from  those  called 
*'Thy  servants  the  prophets,"  the  season  of  whose 
"  reward  "  was  come.  With  this  corresponds  the  fact 
that  in  the  writings  of  St.  John  the  words  "  to  judge  " 
and  '^judgment"  are  always  used,  not  in  a  neutral 
sense,  but  in  one  tending  to  condemnation.  Without 
some  qualifying  term  the  Apostle  could  hardly  have 
applied  them  to  the  acquittal  of  the  righteous. 

2.  The  sources  whence  the  "  dead "  are  gathered 
confirm  this  conclusion.     These  are  three  in  number  : 

'  In  connexion  with  the  point  here  spoken  of,  reference  may  be 
made  to  an  interesting  and  instinctive  paper  by  Canon  Dale  Stewart, 
Rector  of  Coulsdon,  in  The  Cliw  chmon  for  December,  1S87. 

'^  Chap.  xi.  18. 


XX.  1 1  - 1 5 .]  JUD  GHENT  OF  SA  TAN.  357 

the  sea,  death,  and  Hades.  Looking  first  at  the  two 
last  of  these,  it  is  plain  that  "  death  "  cannot  in  this 
connexion  be  the  neutral  grave,  for  it  is  ''  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire,"  where  the  devil,  the  beast,  and  the 
false  prophet  are.  Similar  remarks  apply  to  ''  Hades," 
which  in  chap.  vi.  8  is  the  coadjutor  of  death,  and 
which  in  the  New  Testament  always  appears  as  a 
region  of  gloom,  and  punishment,  and  opposition  to 
the  truth  :  '*  And  thou,  Capernaum,  shalt  thou  be  ex- 
alted unto  heaven  ?  thou  shalt  go  down  unto  Hades  ;  " 
"  And  I  also  say  unto  thee  that  thou  art  Peter,  and 
upon  this  reck  I  will  build  My  Church;  and  the 
gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it."^  If 
such  be  the  sense  in  which  we  are  to  understand 
death  and  Hades,  light  is  thrown  upon  the  manner  in 
which  we  are  to  interpret  the  first  of  the  three  sources, 
— *'  the  sea."  This  cannot  be  the  ocean,  because  the 
number  of  those  to  be  given  up  from  its  depths  at  the 
last  day  is  comparatively  small ;  because,  as  the  literal 
sea,  it  is  in  no  way  suitably  associated  with  death  and 
Hades ;  and  because,  when  we  read  in  chap.  xxi.  I, 
"  And  the  sea  is  no  -more,"  it  is  impossible  to  think 
that  the  word  is  used  in  any  other  than  a  figurative 
sense.  No  reason  can  be  imagined  why,  when  the 
earth  is  renewed,  there  should  be  no  more  that  sea 
which  is  one  grand  instrument  of  its  present  greatness 
and  glory.  Besides  all  this,  we  have  hitherto  found 
that  in  the  Apocalypse  the  "sea"  is  the  emblem  of  the 
unruly  and  troubled  nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  source 
from  which  the  first  beast  of  chap.  xhi.  had  his  origin. 
In  the  same  sense  therefore  we  must  understand  it 
here.     Like  "death"  and  "Hades,"  "the  sea"  spoken 


*  Matt.  xi.  23,  xvi.  18. 


358  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

of  can  give  up  none  but  ungodly  dead  to  the  judgment 
of  the  great  day. 

3.  The  "  books "  mentioned  in  the  passage  are 
clearly  books  containing  the  record  of  evil  deeds  alone. 
When  it  is  said  that  ^'  books "  were  opened,  and  that 
'' another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life," 
the  *' books"  are  distinguished  from  the  ^*book."  It 
harmonizes  with  this  that  the  book  of  life  is  not  opened 
in  order  to  secure  deliverance  for  those  whose  names 
are  inscribed  in  it,  but  only  to  justify  the  sentence 
passed  on  any  who  are  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire. 

4.  The  general  teaching  of  St.  John  ought  not  to 
be  lost  sight  of  in  considering  this  question.  That 
teaching  is  that  the  eternal  condition  of  the  righteous 
is  fully  secured  to  them  even  in  this  life,  and  that  in 
their  glorified  Head  they  have  already  passed  through 
all  those  preparatory  stages  on  their  way  to  everlasting 
blessedness  at  the  thought  of  which  they  might  other- 
wise have  trembled.  In  Him  they  have  lived,  and 
overcome,  and  died.  In  Him  they  have  been  raised 
from  the  dead,  and  been  seated  in  the  heavenly  places. 
All  along  they  have  followed  the  Lamb  whithersoever 
He  goeth,  and  everything  that  befell  Him  has  in 
principle  befallen  them.  We  cannot  say,  in  the 
Johannine  sense  of  the  word,  that  Christ  has  been 
"judged;"  and  therefore  "judgment"  cannot  be  pre- 
dicated of  the  members  of  His  Body.  To  these  last 
"judgment,"  we  have  already  seen,  "  was  given  "  at  the 
time  when  they  entered  on  their  millennial  reign  ; 
and,  with  the  result  of  this  judgment  (for  that  is  the 
true  meaning  of  the  original)  in  their  hands,  it  is 
impossible  to  think  of  them  as  judged  again. 

The  judgment  of  these  verses  is  therefore  a  judgment 
of  the   wicked ;    and,    when   it   is   closed,    all  Christ's 


XX.  11-15.]  JUDGMENT  OF  SATAN.  35'? 


enemies  have  not  only  been  vanquished,  but  have  been 
banished  from  the  scene  where  He  is  to  reign  "  before 
His  ancients  gloriously."  ^  The  first  part  of  the  final 
triumph  has  been  accomplished. 


'  Isa.  xxiv.  23. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE  NEW  JERUSALEM, 
Rev.  xxi,  i-xxii.  5, 

THE  first  part  of  the  final  triumph  of  the  Lamb 
has  been  accompHshed,  but  the  second  has  still 
to  be  unfolded.  We  are  introduced  to  it  by  one  of 
those  preparatory  or  transition  passages  which  have 
already  frequently  met  us  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  which 
connect  themselves  both  with  what  precedes  and  with 
what  follows  : — • 

And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  :  for  the  first  heaven  and 
the  first  earth  are  passed  away  ;  and  the  sea  is  no  more.  And  I  saw 
the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of  heaven  from  God, 
made  ready  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  throne  saying,  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is 
with  men,  and  He  shall  dwell  with  them,  and  thej^  shall  be  His  peoples, 
and  God  Himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God  :  and  He  shall 
wipe  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes  ;  and  death  shall  be  no  more, 
neither  shall  there  be  mourning,  nor  crying,  nor  pain  any  more  :  the 
first  things  are  passed  away.  And  He  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  said. 
Behold,  I  make  ail  things  new.  And  He  saith,  "Write  :  for  these  words 
are  faithful  and  true.  And  He  said  unto  me,  They  are  come  to  pass. 
I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  I  will 
givt,  cinto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely. 
He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  these  things;  and  I  will  be  his  God, 
and  he  shall  be  My  son.  But  for  the  fearful,  and  unbelieving,  and 
abommable,  and  murderers,  and  fornicators,  and  sorcerers,  and 
idolaters,  and  all  liars,  their  part  shall  be  in  the  lake  that  burncth 
with  fire  and  brimstone:  which  is  the  second  death  (xxi.  1-8), 


xxi.  i-S.]  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  361 

These  words,  like  many  others  that  have  already 
met  us,  throw  light  upon  the  principles  on  which  the 
Apocalypse  is  composed.  They  show  in  the  clearest 
possible  manner  that  down  to  the  very  end  of  the 
book  chronological  considerations  must  be  put  out  of 
view.  Chronology  cannot  be  thought  of  when  we  find, 
on  the  one  hand,  allusions  to  the  new  Jerusalem 
which  are  only  amplified  and  extended  in  the  next 
vision  of  the  chapter,  or  when  we  find,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  description  of  the  exclusion  from  the  new 
Jerusalem  of  certain  classes  that  have  already  been 
consigned  to  ''  the  second  death."  By  the  first-men- 
tioned allusions  the  passage  connects  itself  with  what 
is  yet  to  come,  by  the  second  with  what  has  gone 
before.  For  the  same  reason  it  is  unnecessary  to 
dwell  upon  the  passage  at  any  length.  It  contains 
either  nothing  new,  or  nothing  that  will  not  again  meet 
us  in  greater  fulness  of  detail.  One  or  two  brief 
remarks  alone  seem  called  for. 

The  Seer  beholds  a  new  heaven  and  a  nczv  earth. 
Two  words  in  the  New  Testament  are  translated 
"  new,"  but  there  is  a  difference  between  them.  The 
one  contemplates  the  object  spoken  of  under  the  aspect 
of  something  that  has  been  recently  brought  into 
existence,  the  other  under  a  fresh  aspect  given  to  what 
had  previously  existed,  but  been  outworn.-^  The  latter 
word  is  employed  here,  as  it  is  also  employed  in  the 
phrases  a  "new  garment,"  that  is,  a  garment  not 
threadbare,  Hke  an  old  one  ;  "  new  wine-skins,"  that 
is,  skins  not  shrivelled  and  dried  ;  a  "  new  tomb,"  that  is, 
not  one  recently  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  but  one  which 
had  never  been  used  as  the  last  resting-place  of  the 

*  Trench,  Synonyms,  second  series,  p.  39, 


362  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

dead.  The  fact,  therefore,  that  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  here  spoken  of  are  "  new,"  does  not  imply  that 
they  are  now  first  brought  into  being.  They  may  be 
the  old  heavens  and  the  old  earth  ;  but  they  have  a 
new  aspect,  a  new  character,  adapted  to  a  new  end. 
Of  the  sense  in  which  the  word  "  sea  "  is  to  be  under- 
stood we  have  already  spoken.-^  Another  expression 
in  the  passage  deserves  notice.  In  saying  that  the  time 
is  come  when  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord  is  with  men^  and 
He  shall  dwell  ivith  them,  it  is  added,  and  they  shall  be  His 
peoples.  We  are  familiar  with  the  Scripture  use  of  the 
word  "  people  "  to  denote  the  true  Israel  of  God,  and 
not  less  with  the  use  of  the  word  ''  peoples  "  to  denote 
the  nations  of  the  earth  alienated  from  Him.  But  here 
the  word  "peoples"  is  used  instead  of  "people  "for 
God's  children ;  and  the  usage  can  only  spring  from 
this  :  that  the  Seer  has  entirely  abandoned  the  idea 
that  Israel  according  to  the  flesh  can  have  the  word 
"  people  "  applied  to  it,  and  that  all  believers,  to  what- 
ever race  they  belong,  occupy  the  same  ground  in 
Christ,  and  are  possessed  of  the  same  privileges.  The 
"  peoples  "  are  the  counterpart  of  the  "  many  diadems  " 
of  chap.  xix.  I2. 

And  there  came  one  of  the  seven  angels  who  had  the  seven  bowls, 
who  were  laden  with  the  seven  last  plagues  ;  and  he  spake  with  me, 
saying,  Come  hither,  I  will  show  thee  the  bride,  the  wife  of  the 
Lamb.  And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  mountain  great  and 
high,  and  showed  me  the  holy  city  Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of 
heaven  from  God,  having  the  glory  of  God  :  her  light  was  like  unto  a 
stone  most  precious,  as  it  were  a  jasper  stone,  clear  as  crystal, 
having  a  wall  great  and  high,  having  twelve  gates,  and  at  the  gates 
twelve  angels,  and  names  written  thereon,  which  are  the  names  ol 
the   twelve'  tribes   of   the   children   of  Israel.      On    the   east   were 

»  Comp.  pp.  227,  357. 


xxi.9-xxii.5.]  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  363 

three  gates,  and  on  the  north  three  gates,  and  on  the  south  three 
gates,  and  on  the  west  three  gates.  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had 
twelve  foundations,  and  on  them  twelve  names  of  the  twelve  apostles 
of  the  Lamb.  And  he  that  spake  with  me  had  for  a  measure  a  golden 
reed  to  measure  the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof,  and  the  wall  thereof. 
And  the  city  lieth  foursquare,  and  the  length  thereof  is  as  great  as 
the  breadth  :  and  he  measured  the  city  with  the  reed,  twelve  thou- 
sand furlongs  :  the  length  and  the  breadth  and  the  height  thereof  are 
equal.  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof,  a  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  cubits,  according  to  the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  an  angel. 
And  the  building  of  the  wall  thereof  was  jasper  :  and  the  city  was 
pure  gold,  like  unto  pure  glass.  The  foundations  of  the  wall  of  the 
city  were  adorned  with  all  manner  of  precious  stones.  The  first 
foundation  was  jasper;  the  second,  sapphire;  the  third,  chalcedony; 
the  fourth,  emerald;  the  fifth,  sardonyx;  the  sixth,  sardius;  the 
seventh,  chrysolite  ;  the  eighth,  beryl ;  the  ninth,  topaz  ;  the  tenth, 
chrysoprase  ;  the  eleventh,  jacinth  ;  the  twelfth,  amethyst.  And  the 
twelve  gates  were  twelve  pearls ;  each  one  of  the  several  gates  was 
of  one  pearl :  and  the  street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold,  as  it  were 
transparent  glass.  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein  :  for  the  Lord  God, 
the  Almighty,  is  the  temple  thereof,  and  the  Lamb.  And  the  city 
hath  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  upon  it :  for  the 
glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  lamp  thereof  is  the  Lamb.  And 
the  nations  shall  walk  amidst  the  light  thereof  :  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  do  bring  their  glory  into  it.  And  the  gates  thereof  shall  in  no 
wise  be  shut  by  day  :  for  there  shall  be  no  night  there.  And  they 
shall  bring  the  glory  and  the  honour  of  the  nations  into  it.  And  there 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything  unclean,  or  he  that  maketh  an 
abomination  and  a  lie  :  but  only  they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life.  And  he  showed  me  a  river  of  water  of  life,  bright  as 
crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  in  the 
midst  of  the  street  thereof.  And  on  this  side  of  the  river  and  on  that 
was  the  tree  of  life,  bearing  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  yielding  its  fruit 
every  month :  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations..  And  there  shall  be  no  curse  any  more  :  and  the  throne  of 
God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  therein  ;  and  His  servants  shall  do  Him 
service  :  and  they  shall  see  His  face  ;  and  His  name  shall  be  on  their 
foreheads.  And  there  shall  be  night  no  more  ;  and  they  need  no 
light  of  lamp,  neither  light  of  sun ;  for  the  Lord  God  shall  give  them 
light :  and  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever  (xxi.  9-xxii.  5). 

The  vision  contained  in  these  verses  is  shown  the 
Seer  by  the  angel  forming  the  third  of  the  second  group 


364  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

associated  with  Him  who  had  been  described  at  chap, 
xix.  II  as  the  Rider  upon  the  white  horse,  and  who 
at  that  time  rode  forth  to  His  final  triumph.  Tlie  first 
of  this  group  of  three  had  appeared  at  chap.  xix.  17, 
and  the  second  at  chap.  xx.  i.  We  have  now  the 
third ;  and  it  is  not  unimportant  to  observe  this,  for  it 
helps  to  throw  light  upon  the  artificial  structure  of  these 
chapters,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  connects  the  vision 
with  Christ's  victory  upon  earth  rather  than  with  any 
scene  of  splendour  and  glory  in  a  region  beyond  the 
place  of  man's  present  abode.  Thus  it  contributes 
something  at  least  to  the  belief  that  there  where  the 
believer  wars  he  also  wears  the  crown  of  triumph. 

The  substance  of  the  vision  is  a  description  of  the 
holy  city,  the  new  Jerusalem,  the  true  Church  of  God 
wholly  separated  from  the  false  Church,  as  she  comes 
down  from  God,  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband.  Her  marriage  with  the  Lamb 
has  taken  place, — a  marriage  in  which  there  shall  be 
no  unfaithfulness  on  the  one  side  and  no  reproaches 
on  the  other,  but  in  which,  as  the  bridegroom  rejoices 
over  the  bride,  the  Lord  shall  for  ever  rejoice  in  His 
people,  and  His  people  in  Him.  Then  follows,  to 
enhance  the  picture,  a  detailed  account  of  the  true 
Church  under  the  figure  of  the  city  which  had  been 
already  spoken  of  in  the  first  vision  of  the  chapter. 
The  treasures  of  the  Seer's  imagination  and  language 
are  exhausted  in  order  that  the  thought  of  her  beauty 
and  her  splendour  may  be  suitably  impressed  upon  our 
minds.  Her  light — that  is,  the  light  which  she  spreads 
abroad,  for  the  word  used  in  the  original  indicates  that 
she  is  herself  the  luminary — is  like  that  of  the  sun, 
only  that  it  is  of  crystalline  clearness  and  purity,  as 
it  'djcre  a  jasper  stone,  the  light  of  Him  who  sat  upon 


xxi.  9-xxii.  5.]  HIE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  365 

the  throne.*  She  is  "  the  Hght  of  the  world."  ^  The 
city  is  also  surrounded  by  a  wall  great  and  high.  She 
is  "  a  strong  city."  "  Salvation  has  God  appointed  her 
for  walls  and  bulwarks."^  Her  walls  have  twelve  gates y 
and  at  the  gates  twelve  angels,  those  to  whom  God  gives 
charge  over  His  people,  to  keep  them  in  all  their  ways  * ; 
while,  as  was  the  case  with  the  new  Jerusalem  beheld 
by  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  names  were  written  on  the  gates, 
which  are  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel.^  These  gates  are  also  harmoniously  distributed, 
three  on  each  side  of  the  square  which  the  city  forms. 
The  foundations  of  the  city,  a  term  under  which  we  are 
not  to  think  of  foundations  buried  in  the  earth,  but 
rather  of  courses  of  stones  going  round  the  city  and 
rising  one  above  another,  are  also  twelve ;  and  on  them 
are  tzvelve  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the  Lamb. 

The  Seer,  however,  is  not  satisfied  with  this  general 
picture  of  the  greatness  of  the  new  Jerusalem.  Like 
that  in  Ezekiel,  the  city  must  be  measured.^  When 
this  is  done,  her  proportions  are  found,  in  spite  of  the 
absence  of  all  verisimiHtude,  to  be  those  of  a  perfect 
cube.  As  in  the  Holy  of  holies  of  the  Tabernacle, 
the  thought  of  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  descrip- 
tion, the  length  and  the  breadth  and  the  height  thereof  are 
equal.  Twelve  thousand  furlongs,  or  fifteen  hundred 
miles,  the  city  stretches  along  and  across  the  plain,  and 
rises  into  the  sky, — twelve,  the  number  of  the  people 
of  God,  multiplied  by  thousands,  the  heavenly  number. 
The  wall  is  also  measured — it  is  difficult  to  say 
whether  in  height  or  in  thickness,   but  most  probably 


*  Chap.  iv.  3.  *  Ps.  xci.  II. 

2  Matt.  V,  14.  5  Comp.  Ezek.  xlviii.  31. 

•  Ps.  xxxi.  21 ;  Isa.  xxvi.  I,  ^  Comp.  Ezek.  xl.  2,  3. 


366  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

the  latter — a  hundred  and  forty  and  four  cubits,  or 
twelve  multiplied  by  twelve. 

The  measuring  is  completed,  and  next  follows  an 
account  of  the  material  of  which  the  city  was  composed. 
This  was  gold,  the  most  precious  metal,  in  its  purest 
state,  like  unto  pure  glass.  Precious  stones  formed,  rather 
than  ornamented,  its  twelve  foundations.  Its  gates 
were  of  pearl :  each  one  of  the  several  gates  zvas  of  one 
pearl;  and  the  street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold,  as  it  were 
transparent  glass.  In  all  these  respects  it  is  evident 
that  the  city  is  thought  of  as  ideally  perfect,  and  not 
according  to  the  realities  or  possibilities  of  things. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  glory  of  the  city  is  still  further 
illustrated  by  figures  bearing  more  immediately  upon 
its  spiritual  rather  than  its  material  aspect.  The  out- 
ward helps  needed  by  men  in  leading  the  life  of  God 
in  their  present  state  of  imperfection  are  dispensed 
with.  There  is  no  temple  therein :  for  the  Lord,  God, 
the  Almighty,  is  the  temple  thereof,  and  the  Lamb.  The 
city  hath  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine 
upon  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  lightens  it  by  day,  and  the 
lamp  thereof  by  night  is  the  Lamb.  There  is  in  it  no 
sin,  and  every  positive  element  of  happiness  is  pro- 
vided in  abundance  for  the  blest  inhabitants.  A  river 
of  water  of  life,  bright  as  crystal,  flows  there ;  and  on 
this  side  of  the  river  and  on  that  side  is  the  tree  of  life, 
not  bearing  fruit  only  once  a  year,  but  every  month, 
not  yielding  one  only,  but  tivclve  manner  of  fruits,  so 
that  all  tastes  may  be  gratified,  having  nothing  about 
it  useless  or  liable  to  decay.  The  very  leaves  of  the 
tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  and  it  is  evidently 
implied  that  they  are  always  green.  Finally,  there 
shall  be  no  curse  any  more.  The  throne  of  God  and  of 
the  Lamb   is   therein.     His    servants   do   Him    service 


xxi.9-xxn.5.]  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  367 

They  see  His  face.  His  name  is  in  their  foreheads. 
They  are  priests  unto  God  in  the  service  of  the  heavenly 
sanctuary.     They  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 

One  important  question  still  remains :  What  aspect 
of  the  Church  does  the  holy  city  Jerusalem,  thus  come 
down  out  of  heaven  from  God,  represent  ?  Is  it  the 
Church  as  she  shall  be  after  the  Judgment,  when  her 
three  great  enemies,  together  with  all  who  have  listened 
to  them,  have  been  for  ever  cast  out  ?  Or  have  we 
before  us  an  ideal  representation  of  the  true  Church  of 
Christ  as  she  exists  now,  and  before  a  final  separation 
has  been  made  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  ? 
Unquestionably  the  first  aspect  of  the  passage  leads 
to  the  former  view;  and,  if  there  be  anything  like  a 
chronological  statement  of  events  in  the  Apocalypse, 
no  other  may  be  possible.  But  we  have  already  seen 
that  the  thought  of  chronology  must  be  banished  from 
this  book.  The  Apocalypse  contains  simply  a  series 
of  visions  intended  to  exhibit,  with  all  the  force  of  that 
inspiration  under  which  the  Seer  wrote,  certain  great 
truths  connected  with  the  revelation  in  humanity  of 
the  Eternal  Son.  It  is  intended,  too,  to  exhibit  these 
in  their  ideal,  and  not  merely  in  their  historical,  form. 
They  are  indeed  to  appear  in  history;  but,  inasmuch 
as  they  do  not  appear  there  in  their  ultimate  and 
completed  form,  we  are  taken  beyond  the  limited  field 
of  historical  manifestation.  We  see  them  in  their 
real  and  essential  nature,  and  as  they  are,  in  them- 
selves, whether  we  think  of  evil  on  the  one  hand,  or  of 
good  on  the  other.  In  this  treatment  of  them,  however, 
chronology  disappears.  Such  being  the  case,  we  are 
prepared  to  ask  whether  the  vision  of  the  new  Jeru- 
salem belongs  to  the  end,  or  whether  it  expresses  what, 
under  the  Christian  dispensation,  is  always  ideally  true. 


368  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION 

1.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  new  Jerusalem, 
though  described  as  a  city,  is  really  a  figure,  not  of  a 
place,  but  of  a  people.  It  is  not  the  final  home  of  the 
redeemed.  It  is  the  redeemed  themselves.  It  is  "  the 
bride,  the  wife  of  the  Lamb."  ^  Whatever  is  said  of 
it  is  said  of  the  true  followers  of  Jesus  ;  and  the  great 
question,  therefore,  that  has  to  be  considered  is, 
whether  St.  John's  description  is  applicable  to  them  in 
their  present  Christian  condition,  or  whether  it  is  suit- 
able to  them  only  when  they  have  entered  upon  their 
state  of  glorification  beyond  the  grave. 

2.  The  vision  is  really  an  echo  of  Old  Testament 
prophecy.  We  have  already  seen  this  in  many  par- 
ticulars, and  the  correspondence  might  easil}^  have 
been  traced  in  many  more.  "  It  is  all,"  says  Isaac 
Williams,  as  he  begins  his  comment  upon  the  particu- 
lar points  of  the  description — "  It  is  all  from  Ezekiel  : 
*  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon  me,  and  brought  me 
in  the  visions  of  God,  and  set  me  upon  a  very  high 
mountain,  by  which  was  as  the  frame  of  a  city  ; '  ^ 
'  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  came  into  the  house  by 
the  gate  toward  the  east ; '  ^  The  Lord  entered  by  the 
eastern  gate  ;  therefore  shall  it  be  shut,  and  opened 
for  none  but  for  the  Prince.'*  Such  was  the  coming  of 
Christ's  glory  from  the  east  into  His  Church,  as  so  often 
alluded  to  before."^  Other  prophets,  no  doubt,  who 
prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come  unto  us,  who 
testified  beforehand  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the 
glories  that  should  follow,  are  to  be  added  to  Ezekiel; 
but,  whoever  they  were,  it  is  undeniable  that  their 
highest  and  most  glowing  representations  of  that  future 


*  Chap,  xxi.  9.  ^  Ezek.  xliii.  2. 

*  Ezek.  xl.  I,  2.  ■•  Ezck.  xliv.  1-3. 

^  The  Apocalypse,  p.  438. 


xxi,  9-xxii.  5-]  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  369 

for  which  they  longed^  and  the  advent  of  which  they  were 
commissioned  to  proclaim,  are  reproduced  in  St.  John's 
description  of  the  new  Jerusalem.  Of  what  was  it, 
then,  that  they  spoke  ?  Surely  it  was  of  the  times  of 
the  Messiah  upon  earth,  of  that  kingdom  of  God  which 
He  was  to  estabhsh  with  the  beginning,  and  not  with 
the  end,  of  the  Christian  dispensation.  That  they  may 
have  looked  forward  to  the  world  beyond  the  grave 
is  possible ;  but  any  distinction  between  the  first  and 
second  coming  of  our  Lord  had  not  yet  risen  upon  their 
minds.  In  the  simple  coming  of  the  Hope  of  Israel 
into  the  world  they  beheld  the  accomplishment  of 
every  aspiration  and  longing  of  the  heart  of  man. 
And  they  were  right.  The  distinction  which  experi- 
ence taught  the  New  Testament  writers  to  draw  was 
not  so  much  between  a  first  and  a  second  coming  of 
the  King  as  between  a  kingdom  then  hidden^  but 
afterwards  to  be  manifested  in  all  its  glory. 

3.  This  ideal  view  of  the  Messianic  age  is  also 
constantly  brought  before  us  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  character,  the  privileges,  and  the  blessings  of 
those  who  are  partakers  of  the  spirit  of  that  time  are 
always  presented  to  us  as  irradiated  with  a  heavenly 
and  perfect  glory.  St.  Paul  addresses  the  various 
churches  to  which  he  wrote  as,  notwithstanding  all 
their  imperfections,  "  beloved  of  God,"  ''  sanctified  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  '*  saints  and  faithful  brethren  in  Christ."  ^ 
Christ  is  '^in  them,"  and  they  are  ^'in  Christ."^ 
*'  Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  Himself  up  for  it ; 
that  He  might  present  the  Church  to  Himself  a 
glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any 


*  Rom.  i.  7  ;   I  Cor.  i.  2;  Co),  i.  2. 

*  Col.  i.  27  ;   I  Cor.  i.  30;  Phil.  i-i.  9. 

24 


370  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

such  thing ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish/'^ — the  description  evidently  applying  to  the 
present  world,  where  also  the  Church  is  seated,  not  in 
earthly,  but  in  "  the  heavenly,  places  "  with  her  Lord.^ 
Our  "citizenship"  is  declared  to  be  ^'in  heaven;"^ 
and  we  are  even  now  ''  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and 
unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
to  innumerable  hosts  of  angels,  and  to  the  general 
assembly  and  Church  of  the  first-born,  who  are  enrolled 
in  heaven,"*  Our  Lord  Himself  and  St.  John,  follow- 
ing in  His  steps,  are  even  more  specific  as  to  the 
present  kingdom  and  the  present  glory.  "  In  that 
day,"  says  Jesus  to  His  disciples,  "ye  shall  know 
that  I  am  in  My  Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you,"  ^ 
and  again,  "And  the  glory  which  Thou  hast  given  Me 
I  have  given  unto  them  ;  that  they  may  be  one,  even 
as  We  are  one  ; "  ®  while  it  is  unnecessary  to  quote  the 
passages  meeting  us  everywhere  in  the  writings  of  the 
beloved  disciple  in  which  he  speaks  of  eternal  life,  and 
that,  too,  in  the  full  greatness  both  of  its  privileges  and 
of  its  results,  as  a  possession  enjoyed  by  the  believer  in 
this  present  world.  The  whole  witness  of  the  New 
Testament,  in  short,  is  to  an  ideal,  to  a  perfect,  kingdom 
of  God  even  now  established  among  men,  in  which  sin 
is  conquered,  temptation  overcome,  strength  substituted 
for  weakness,  death  so  deprived  of  its  sting  that  it  is 
no  more  death,  and  the  Christian,  though  for  a  little 
put  to  grief  in  manifold  temptations,  made  "  to  rejoice 
greatly  with  joy  unspeakable  and  glorified."  ^  From 
all   this  the    representation  of  the   new  Jerusalem   in 

•  Eph.  V.  25-27.  *  Heb.  xii,  22,  23. 
'  Eph.  i.  3.  •  '  John  xiv,  20. 

*  Phil.  iii.  20.  *  John  xvii.  22. 

'  I  Pet.  i.  8. 


xxi.  9-xxii.  5-]  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  371 

the  Apocalypse  differs  in  no  essential  respect.  It 
enters  more  into  particulars.  It  illustrates  the  general 
thought  by  a  greater  variety  of  detail.  But  it  contains 
nothing  which  is  not  found  in  principle  in  the  other 
sacred  writers,  and  which  is  not  connected  by  them 
with  the  heavenly  aspect  of  the  Christian's  pilgrimage 
to  his  eternal  home. 

4.  There  are  distinct  indications  in  the  apocalyptic 
vision  which  leave  no  interpretation  possible  except 
one, — that  the  new  Jerusalem  has  come,  that  it  has 
been  in  the  midst  of  us  for  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
years,  that  it  is  now  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  that  it 
shall  continue  to  be  so  wherever  its  King  has  those 
who  love  and  serve  Him,  walk  in  His  light,  and  share 
His  peace  and  joy. 

(i)  Let  us  look  at  chap.  xx.  9,  where  we  read  of 
*'  the  camp  of  the  saints  and  the  beloved  city."  That 
city  is  none  other  than  the  new  Jerusalem,  about  to 
be  described  in  the  following  chapter.  It  is  Jerusalem 
after  the  elements  of  the  harlot  character  have  been 
wholly  expelled,  and  the  call  of  chap,  xviii.  4  has 
been  heard  and  obeyed,  "  Come  forth,  My  people,  out 
of  her."  She  is  inhabited  now  by  none  but  ''  saints," 
who,  though  they  have  still  to  war  with  the  world, 
are  themselves  the  ''called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful." 
But  this  "  beloved  city  "  is  spoken  of  as  in  the  world, 
and  as  the  object  of  attack  by  Satan  and  his  hosts 
before  the  Judgment.-^ 

(2)  Let  us  look  at  chap.  xxi.  24  and  xxii.  2  :  ''And 
the  nations  shall  walk  by  the  light  thereof;  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  into  it;" 
'  And  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of 

*  Comp.  Foxlcy,  Hiilscan  Lcchtres,  Lect.  i. 


372  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION'. 


the  nations."  Who  are  these  "  nations "  and  these 
"kings  of  the  earth"  ?  The  constant  use  of  the  same 
expressions  in  other  parts  of  this  book,  where  there 
can  be  no  doubt  as  to  their  meaning,  compels  us  to 
understand  them  of  nations  and  kings  beyond  the  pale 
of  the  covenant.  But  if  so,  the  difficulty  of  realizing 
the  situation  at  a  point  of  time  beyond  the  Judgment 
appears  to  be  insuperable,  and  may  be  well  illus- 
trated by  the  effort  of  Hengstenberg  to  overcome  it. 
^'Nations,"  says  that  commentator,  ''in  the  usage  of 
the  Revelation,  are  not  nations  generally,  but  always 
heathen  nations  in  their  natural  or  christianized  state ; 
compare  at  chap.  xx.  3.  That  we  are  to  think  here 
only  of  converted  heathen  is  as  clear  as  day.  No  room 
for  conversion  can  be  found  on  the  further  side  of 
chap.  XX.  15,  for  every  one  who  had  not  been  found 
written  in  the  book  of  Hfe  has  already  been  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire."  ^  But  the  words  "or  christianized" 
in  this  comment  have  no  countenance  from  any  other 
passage  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  in  Hengstenberg's  note 
at  chap.  XX.  3  we  are  referred  to  nothing  but  the 
texts  before  us.  On  every  other  occasion,  too,  where 
the  word  "  nations "  meets  us,  it  means  unconverted, 
not  converted,  nations ;  and  here  it  can  mean  nothing 
else.  Were  the  nations  spoken  of  converted,  they 
would  be  a  part  of  that  new  Jerusalem  which  is  not 
the  residence  of  God's  people,  but  His  people  them- 
selves. They  would  be  the  light,  and  not  such  as 
walk  "  by  the  light "  of  others.  They  would  be  the 
healed,  and  not  those  who  stand  in  need  of  "  healing." 
These  "  nations "  must  be  the  unconverted,  these 
"kings  of  the  earth"  such  as   have  not  yet  acknow- 

*  Commentary  in  Clark's  Foreign  Thcologi.ul  Library ,  in  loc. 


xxi.9-xxii.5.]  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  373 

ledged  Jesus   to   be   their  King;    and   nothing  of  this 
can  be  found  beyond  chap.  xx.  15. 

(3)  Let  us  look  at  chap.  xxi.  27,  where  we  read, 
"  And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything 
unclean,  or  he  that  doeth  an  abomination  and  a  lie." 
These  words  distinctly  intimate  that  the  time  for  final 
separation  had  not  yet  come.  Persons  of  the  wicked 
character  described  must  be  supposed  to  be  alive  upon 
the  earth  after  the  new  Jerusalem  has  appeared. 

5.  Another  consideration  on  the  point  under  discus- 
sion may  be  noticed,  which  will  have  weight  with  those 
who  admit  the  existence  of  that  principle  of  structure 
in  St.  John's  writings  upon  which  it  rests.  Alike  in 
the  Gospel  and  in  the  Apocalypse  the  Apostle  is 
marked  by  a  tendency  to  return  at  the  close  of  a  section 
to  what  he  had  said  at  the  beginning,  and  to  shut  up, 
as  it  were,  between  the  two  statements  all  he  had  to 
say.  So  here.  In  chap.  i.  3  he  introduces  his  Apo- 
calypse with  the  words,  '*  For  the  time  is  at  hand." 
In  chap.  xxii.  10,  immediately  after  closing  it,  he 
returns  to  the  thought,  "  Seal  not  up  the  words  of  the 
prophecy  of  this  book  :  for  the  time  is  at  hand ; " 
that  is,  the  whole  intervening  revelation  is  enclosed 
between  these  two  statem.ents.  All  of  it  precedes  the 
"  time  "  spoken  of.  The  new  Jerusalem  comes  before 
the  end. 

In  the  new  Jerusalem,  therefore,  we  have  essentially 
a  picture,  not  of  the  future,  but  of  the  present ;  of  the 
ideal  condition  of  Christ's  true  people,  of  His  'Mittle 
fleck  "  on  earth,  in  every  age.  The  picture  may  not 
yet  be  realized  in  fulness  ;  but  every  blessing  lined  in 
upon  its  canvas  is  in  principle  the  believer's  now,  and 
will  be  more  and  more  his  in  actual  experience  as  he 
opens  his  eyes  to  see  and  his  heart  to  receive.     We 


374  TliE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

have  been  wrong  in  transferring  the  picture  of  the 
new  Jerusalem  to  the  future  alone.  It  belongs  also 
to  the  past  and  to  the  present.  It  is  the  heritage  of 
the  children  of  God  at  the  very  time  when  they  are 
struggling  with  the  world ;  and  the  thought  of  it  ought 
to  stimulate  them  to  exertion  and  to  console  them 
under  suffering. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  EPILOGUE. 
Rev.  xxii.  6-21, 

THE  visions  of  the  Seer  have  closed,  and  closed 
with  a  picture  of  the  final  and  complete  triumph 
of  the  Church  over  all  her  enemies.  No  more  glorious 
representation  of  what  her  Lord  has  done  for  her 
could  be  set  before  us  than  that  contained  in  the 
description  of  the  new  Jerusalem.  Nothing  further 
can  be  said  when  we  know  that  in  the  garden  of 
Paradise  Restored  into  which  she  is  introduced,  in 
the  Holy  of  holies  of  the  Divine  Tabernacle  planted 
in  the  world,  she  shall  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
life,  drink  of  the  water  of  life,  and  reign  for  ever  and 
ever.  Surely  as  these  visions  passed  before  the  eye 
of  St.  John  in  the  lonely  isle  of  Patmos  he  would  be 
gladdened  with  the  light  of  heaven,  and  would  need 
no  more  to  strengthen  him  in  the  kingdom  and  patience 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Was  it  not  too  much  ?  The  Epilogue 
of  the  book  assures  us  that  it  was  not ;  and  that, 
although  the  natural  eye  of  man  had  not  seen,  nor 
his  ear  heard,  nor  his  heart  conceived  the  things  that 
had  been  spoken  of,  they  had  been  revealed  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  Himself,  not  one  word  of  whose  promises 
would  fail. 


376  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

And  he  said  unto  me,  These  words  are  faithful  and  true :  and  the 
Lord,  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  the  prophets,  sent  His  angel  to  show 
unto  His  servants  the  things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass.  And, 
behold,  I  come  quickly :  blessed  is  he  that  keepcth  the  words  of  the 
prophecy  of  this  book. 

And  I  John  am  he  that  heard  and  saw  these  things.  And  when  I 
heard  and  saw.  I  fell  down  to  worship  before  the  feet  of  the  angel 
which  showed  me  these  things.  And  he  saith  unto  me.  See  thou  do 
it  not :  I  am  a  fellow-servant  with  thee,  and  with  thy  brethren  the 
prophets,  and  with  them  which  keep  the  words  of  this  book  :  worship 
God  (xxii.  6-9). 

Attention  has  been  already  called  in  this  commentary 
both  to  that  characteristic  of  St.  John's  style  as  a 
writer  which  leads  him,  at  a  longer  or  a  shorter 
interval,  to  the  point  from  which  he  started,  and  to 
the  fact  that  light  is  thus  frequently  thrown  on  the 
interpretation  of  what  he  says.^  Every  illustration 
of  such  a  point  is  therefore  not  only  interesting,  but 
important ;  and  in  the  words  before  us  it  is  illustrated 
with  more  than  ordinary  clearness. 

The  person  introduced  with  the  words  He  said  unto 
me  is  not  indeed  named,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  he  is  the  angel  spoken  of  in  the  Prologue  as  sent 
to  "  signify  "  the  revelation  that  was  to  follow.^ 

Again,  when  the  Seer  is  overwhelmed  with  what  he 
has  seen,  and  may  be  said  to  have  almost  feared  that 
it  was  too  wonderful  for  belief,  the  angel  assures  him 
that  it  was  2i\\  faitJiful  and  true.  A  similar  declaration 
had  been  made  at  chap.  xix.  9  by  the  voice  which 
there  "  came  forth  from  the  throne,"^  and  likewise  at 
chap.  xxi.  5  by  Him  "  that  sitteth  on  the  throne."  The 
angel  therefore  who  now  speaks,  like  the  angel  of  the 
Prologue,  has  the  authority  of  this  Divine  Being  for 
what  he  says.     It  is  true  that  in  the  following  words, 

»  Comp.  p.  373.  -  Chap.  i.  I.  ^  Chap.  xix.  5. 


xxii.6-9.]  THE  EPILOGUE.  377 

which  seem  to  come  from  the  same  speaker,  the  angel 
must  thus  be  understood  to  refer  to  himself  in  the 
third  person,  and  not,  as  we  might  have  expected,  in 
the  first, —  The  Lord  sent  His  angel,  not  The  Lord 
sent  me.  But,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  such  a 
method  of  address  is  met  with  in  the  prophetic  style 
of  the  Old  Testament,  it  appears  to  be  characteristic 
of  St.  John  in  other  passages  of  his  writings.  More 
particularly  we  mark  it  in  the  narrative  in  the  fourth 
Gospel  of  the  death  of  Jesus  on  the  Cross  :  *'  And  he 
that  hath  seen  hath  borne  witness,  and  his  witness  is 
true :  and  he  knoweth  that  he  saith  true,  that  ye  may 
believe."! 

Again,  we  read  here  that  the  Lord  sent  His  angel  to 
show  unto  His  servants  the  things  which  must  shortly 
come  to  pass ;  and  the  statement  is  the  same  as  that 
of  chap.  i.  I. 

The  next  words.  And,  behold,  L  come  quickly,  are 
probably  words  of  our  Lord  Himself;  but  the  blessing 
upon  him  that  keepeth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book  again  leads  the  Seer  back  to  the  Prologue,  where 
a  similar  blessing  is  pronounced.^ 

Again,  the  remembrance  of  the  Prologue  is  in  the 
Apostle's  mind  when,  naming  himself,  he  proceeds,  1 
John  am  he  that  heard  and  saw  these  things.  In  pre- 
cisel}'  the  same  manner,  after  the  introductory  verses 
of  the  Prologue,  he  had  named  himself  as  the  writer 
of  the  book  :  "John  to  the  seven  Churches  ;  "  ''I  John, 
your  brother."  ^  Then  he  was  about  to  write ;  now 
that  he  has  written,  he  is  the  same  John  whom  the 

'  John  xix.  35.     Wider  questions  than  can  be  here  discussed  would 
be  opened  up  b}'  an  inquiry  how  far  the  same  method  of  explanation 
•     may  be  applied  to  John  xvii.  3. 

2  Chap.  i.  3.  8  Chap.  i.  4,  9. 


378  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

Church  knew  and  honoured,  and  whose  consciousness 
of  everything  that  had  passed  was  undimmed  and 
perfect.  This  going  back  upon  the  Prologue  is  also 
sufficient  to  prove,  if  proof  be  thought  necessary,  that 
the  words  "these  things"  are  designed  to  include,  not 
merely  the  vision  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  but  all  the 
visions  of  the  book. 

That  the  Seer  should  have  fallen  down  to  worship 
before  the  feet  of  the  angel  which  showed  him  these  things 
has  often  caused  surprise.  He  had  already  done  so 
on  a  previous  occasion,^  and  had  been  reproved  in 
words  almost  exactly  similar  to  those  in  which  he  is 
now  addressed  :  See  thou  do  it  not :  I  am  a  fellow-servant 
with  thee,  and  with  thy  brethren  the  prophets,  and  with  them 
which  keep  the  words  of  this  book :  worship  God.  How 
could  he  so  soon  forget  the  warning  ?  We  need  not 
wonder.  The  thought  of  the  one  vision  preceding  his 
former  mistake  might  easily  be  swallowed  up  by  the 
thought  of  the  whole  revelation  of  which  it  was  a  part ; 
and,  as  the  splendour  of  all  that  he  had  witnessed 
passed  once  more  before  his  view,  he  might  imagine 
that  the  angel  by  whom  it  was  communicated  must  be 
worthy  of  his  worship.  His  mistake  was  corrected  as 
before. 

The  prophecy  is  now  in  the  Seer's  hands,  ideally, 
though  not  actually,  written.  He  may  easily  speak  of 
it,  therefore,  as  written,  and  may  relate  the  instructions 
which  he  received  regarding  it.  He  does  this,  and 
again  it  will  be  seen  how  closely  he  follows  the  lines 
of  his  Prologue  : — 

And  he  saith  unto  me,  Seal  not  up  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of 
this  book  :  for  the  time  is  at  hand.     He  that  is  unrighteous,  let  him 

'  Chap.  xix.  lo. 


xxii.  10-15.]  THE  EPILOGUE.  379 

do  unrighteousness  still  :  and  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  made  filthy 
still  :  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  do  righteousness  still  :  and  he 
that  is  hoW,  let  him  be  made  holy  still.  Behold,  I  come  quickly  ;  and 
My  reward  is  with  Me,  to  render  to  each  man  according  as  his  work 
is.  I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last,  the 
beginning  and  the  end.  Blessed  are  they  that  wash  their  robes,  that 
they  may  have  the  right  to  come  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in 
by  the  gates  into  the  city.  Without  are  the  dogs,  and  the  sorcerers, 
and  the  fornicators,  and  the  murderers,  and  the  idolaters,  and  every 
one  that.loveth  and  maketh  a  lie  (xxii.  10-15). 

To  the  prophet  Daniel  it  had  been  said,  ''  But  thou, 
O  Daniel,  shut  up  the  words,  and  seal  the  book,  even 
to  the  time  of  the  end."  ^  The  hour  had  not  yet  come 
for  the  full  manifestation  of  that  momentous  future 
upon  which  he  had  been  commissioned  to  dwell.  The 
situation  of  St.  John  was  wholly  different,  and  the  hour 
for  winding  up  the  history  of  this  dispensation  was 
about  to  strike.  It  was  not  a  time  then  for  sealing  up, 
but  for  breaking  seals,  a  time  for  prophecy,  for  the 
loudest,  clearest,  and  most  urgent  proclamation  of  the 
truth.  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly,"  had  been  a  moment 
before  the  voice  of  the  great  Judge.  Let  the  bride  for 
whom  He  is  to  come  be  ready  ;  and,  that  she  may  the 
more  promptly  be  so,  let  her  hear  with  earnest  and 
immediate  attention  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book. 

It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  say  whether  the  following 
words,  He  that  is  unrighteous^  let  him  do  unrighteous- 
ness still:  and  he  that  is  fdtJiy,  let  him  be  made  filthy 
still:  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  do  righteousness 
still:  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  made  holy  still,  are  to 
be  considered  as  coming  from  the  Apostle  or  from  the 
angel  who  has  been  speaking  to  him.  This  difficulty 
is  the  same  as  that  experienced  in  the  fourth  Gospel 

*  Dan.  xii.  4 ;  comp.  viii.  26. 


38o  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

at  such  passages  as  chap.  iii.  i6  and  31,  where  it 
is  nearly  impossible  to  tell  the  point  at  which  in 
the  one  case  the  words  of  Jesus,  at  which  in  the 
other  the  words  of  the  Baptist,  end.  It  would  appear 
as  if  St.  John  so  sank  himself  in  the  person  with 
w^hom  he  was  occupied  at  the  time  that  he  often 
gave  utterance  to  thoughts  without  being  able  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  other's  and  his  own.  In  the 
present  instance  it  matters  little  to  whom  we  directly 
refer  the  words,  whether  to  St.  John,  or  to  the  angel, 
or  to  Him  who  speaks  by  the  angel.  In  any  case  they 
contain  a  striking  and  solemn  view  of  the  relation 
between  the  righteous  Judge  and  His  creatures,  when 
that  relation  is  looked  at  in  its  ultimate,  in  its  final, 
form.  One  thing  is  clear  :  that  the  first  two  clauses 
cannot  be  regarded  as  a  summons  to  the  wicked  telling 
them  before  the  Judgment  to  go  on  in  their  wickedness 
even  while  the  period  of  their  probation  lasts.  Nor 
can  the  second  two  clauses  be  regarded  as  an  assurance 
to  the  good  that  there  is  a  point  in  the  actual  ex- 
perience of  life  at  which  their  perseverance  in  goodness 
is  secured.  The  words  can  only  be  understood  in  the 
light  of  that  idealism  which  is  so  characteristic  alike 
of  the  Apocalypse  and  of  the  fourth  Gospel.  In  both 
books  the  world  of  mankind  is  presented  to  us  in 
exactly  the  same  light.  Men  are  divided  into  two 
great  classes  :  those  who  are  prepared  to  receive  the 
truth  and  those  who  are  obstinately  opposed  to  it ; 
and  these  classes  are  spoken  of  as  if  they  had  been 
formed,  not  merely  after,  but  before,  the  work  of  Christ 
had  tried  and  proved  them.  Not  indeed  that  the 
salvation  to  be  found  in  Jesus  was  not  designed  to  be 
universal,  that  there  was  even  one  member  of  the 
human  family  doomed  by  eternal  and  irresistible  decree 


xxii.  10-15.]  THE  EPILOGUE,  381 

to  everlasting  death,  nor,  again,  that  men  are  con- 
sidered as  so  essentially  identilied  with  the  two  classes 
to  which  they  respectively  belong  that  they  incur  no 
moral  responsibility  in  accepting  or  rejecting  the 
Redeemer  of  the  world.  In  that  respect  St.  John 
occupied  the  same  ground  as  his  fellow-Apostles.  Not 
less  than  they  would  he  have  declared  that  God  willed 
all  men  to  be  saved  ;  and  not  less  than  they  would 
he  have  told  them  that,  if  they  were  not  saved,  it 
was  because  they  ''  loved  the  darkness  rather  than 
the  light." ^  Yet,  notwithstanding  this  practical  mode 
in  which  he  would  have  dealt  with  men,  such  is  his 
idealism,  such  his  mode  of  looking  at  things  in  their 
ultimate,  eternal,  unchanging  aspect,  that  he  constantly 
presents  the  two  classes  as  if  they  were  divided  from 
each  other  by  a  permanent  wall  of  separation,  and  as 
if  the  work  of  Christ  consisted  not  so  much  in  bringing 
the  one  class  over  to  the  other  as  in  making  manifest 
the  existing  tendencies  of  each.  The  light  of  the  one 
brightens,  the  darkness  of  the  other  deepens,  as  we 
proceed ;  but  the  light  does  not  become  darkness,  and 
the  darkness  does  not  become  light.^ 

Hence,  accordingly,  the  conversion  of  Israel  or  of 
the  heathen  finds  no  place  in  the  Apocalypse.  The 
texts  supposed  to  offer  such  a  prospect  will  not  bear 
the  interpretation  put  upon  them.  It  does  not  indeed 
follow  that,  according  to  the  teaching  of  this  book, 
neither  Israel  nor  the  heathen  will  be  converted.  St. 
John  only  sees  the  end  in  the  beginning,  and  deals,  not 
with  the  everyday  practical,  but  with  the  ideal  and 
everlasting,  issues  of  God's  kingdom.     Hence,  in  inter- 

*  Comp,  John  iii.  19. 

*  See  a  fuller  treatment  of  this  important  point  by  the  author  in 
his  Lectures  on  the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  p.  286,  etc. 


382  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

preting  the  words  before  us,  we  must  be  careful  to  put 
into  them  the  exact  shade  of  meaning  which  the  whole 
spirit  and  tone  of  the  Apostle's  writings  prove  to  have 
been  in  his  mind  when  they  were  written.  The  clauses 
*'  He  that  is  unrighteous  "  and  "  He  that  is  filthy  "  are 
to  be  understood  as  "  He  that  has  loved  and  chosen 
unrighteousness  and  filthiness :  "  the  clauses  ^'  Let  him 
do  unrighteousness  still  "  and  '*  Let  him  be  made  filthy 
still "  as  "  Let  him  sink  deeper  into  the  unrighteousness 
and  filthiness  which  he  has  loved  and  chosen."  A  prin- 
ciple freely  selected  by  himself  is  supposed  to  be  in  the 
breast  of  each,  and  that  principle  does  not  remain  fixed 
and  stationary.  No  principle  does.  It  unfolds  or  deve- 
lops itself  according  to  its  own  nature,  rising  to  greater 
heights  of  good  if  it  be  good,  sinking  to  greater  depths 
of  evil  if  it  be  evil.  Hence  also  we  are  not  to  imagine 
that  the  words  under  consideration  are  applicable  only 
to  the  end,  or  are  the  record  only  of  a  final  judgment. 
They  are  applicable  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  their  respective  his- 
tories, and  it  is  at  this  moment  as  true  as  it  will  ever 
be  that,  in  so  far  as  the  heart  and  will  of  a  man  arc 
really  turned  to  evil  or  to  good,  the  allegiance  he  has 
chosen  has  the  tendency  of  continued  progress  towards  * 
the  triumph  of  the  one  or  of  the  other. 

In  connexion  with  thoughts  like  these,  we  see  the 
peculiar  propriety  of  that  declaration  as  to  Himself 
and  His  purposes  next  made  by  the  Redeemer :  Behold^ 
I  come  quickly.  He  comes  to  wind  up  the  history  of 
the  present  dispensation.  And  My  reward  is  with  Me^ 
to  render  to  each  man  according  as  his  work  is.  He 
comes  to  bestow  "reward"^  upon  His  own;  and  there 

'  Comp.  chap   xi.  l8. 


xxii.  10-15.]  THE  EPILOGUE.  383 

is  no  mention  of  judgment,  because  for  those  who  are 
to  be  rewarded  judgment  is  past  and  gone,  /  am  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last,  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end,  the  words  again  taking  us  back  to 
the  language  of  the  Prologue/  upon  which  follows  a 
blessing  for  such  as  wash  their  robes,  for  those  other- 
wise described  in  the  Prologue  as  '*  loosed  from  their 
sins  in  His  blood,"  ^  and  in  chap.  vii.  14  as  having 
*'  washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb."  These  have  the  right  to  come  to  the  tree 
of  life,  and  they  enter  in  by  the  gates  into  the  city.  A 
different  order  might  have  been  expected,  for  the  tree 
of  life  grows  within  the  city,  and  it  is  the  happy  in- 
habitants of  the  city  who  eat  its  fruits.  But  this  is  the 
blessed  paradox  of  faith.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which 
privilege  enjoyed  by  the  believer  comes  first,  and  which 
comes  second.  Rather  may  all  that  he  enjoys  be 
looked  on  as  given  at  once,  for  the  great  gift  to  him 
is  Christ  Himself,  and  in  Him  everything  is  included. 
He  is  the  gate  of  the  city,  and  as  such  the  way  to  the 
tree  of  life  ;  He  is  the  tree  of  life,  and  they  who  par- 
take of  Him  have  a  right  to  enter  into  the  city  and 
dwell  there.  Why  ask.  Which  comes  first  ?  At  one 
moment  we  may  think  that  it  is  one  blessing,  at  another 
that  it  is  another.  The  true  description  of  our  state  is 
that  we  are  "in  Christ  Jesus,  who  was  made  unto  us 
wisdom  from  God,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification, 
and  redemption  :  that,  according  as  it  is  written,  He 
that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord."  ^ 

To  enhance  our  estimate  of  the  happiness  of  those 
who  are  within  the  city,  there  comes  next  a  descrip- 
tion of  those  who  are  without.     They  are  first  denoted 

'  Cl-.ap.  i  8.  2  Qhap^  i_  ^^  »  I  c^r  j^  ^O. 


384  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

by  the  general  term  the  dogs,  that  animal,  as  we  learn 
from  many  passages  of  Scripture,  being  to  the  Jew 
the  emblem  of  all  that  was  wild,  unregulated,  unclean, 
and  offensive.^  Then  the  general  term  is  subdivided 
into  various  classes;  and  all  of  them  are  without,  not 
put  out.  They  were  put  out  when  judgment  fell  upon 
them.  Now  they  are  without;  and  the  door  once 
open  to  them  ''is  shut."^ 
The  last  words  follow  : — 

I  Jesus  have  sent  Mine  angel  to  testify  unto  you  these  things  for 
the  Churches.  I  am  the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David,  the  bright, 
the  morning  star. 

And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come.  And  he  that  heareth, 
let  him  say,  Come.  And  he  that  is  athirst,  let  hiqi  come.  He  that 
will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely.  I  testify  unto  every  man 
that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book.  If  any  man  shall 
add  unto  them,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  which  are  written 
in  this  book :  and  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  the 
book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his  part  from  the  tree  of 
life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  which  are  written  in  this  book.  He 
which  testifieth  these  things  saith,  Yea :  I  come  quickly.  Amen. 
Come,  Lord  Jesus. 

The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  be  with  the  saints.     Amen  (xxii.  16-21). 

Once  more  in  these  words  it  will  be  seen'  that  we 
return  to  the  Prologue,  in  the  opening  words  of  which 
we  read,  ''  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God 
gave  Him,  to  show  unto  His  servants ;  .  .  .  and  He 
sent  and  signified  it  by  His  angel  unto  His  servant 
John."^  The  glorified  Lord  now  takes  up  the  same 
■words  Himself;  and,  connecting  by  the  name  ''Jesus" 
all  that  He  was  on  earth  with  all  that  belongs  to  His 
condition  in  heaven.  He  declares  of  the  whole  revela- 
tion contained    in    the   visions   of  this  book   that    the 

^  Comp.  Ps.  xxii.  16,  20;  Matt.  vii.  6;  Phil.  iii.  2. 

*  Comp.  Matt.  xxv.  lo. 

•  Chap.  i.  I. 


xxii.  i6-2i.]  THE  EPILOGUE.  385 

angel  through  whom  it  was  communicated  had  been 
sent  by  Him.  He  Himself  had  given  it— He,  even 
Jesus, — Jesus  the  Saviour  of  His  people  from  their 
sins,  the  Captain  of  their  salvation,  the  Joshua  who 
leads  them  out  of  the  "  wilderness "  of  this  world, 
across  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  into  that 
Promised  Land  which  Canaan,  with  its  milk  and 
honey,  its  vines  and  oHve  trees,  its  rest  after  long 
wanderings,  and  its  peace  after  hard  warfare,  only 
faintly  pictured  to  their  view.  Well  is  He  able  to 
do  this,  for  in  Him  earth  meets  heaven,  and  ''  the 
angels  of  God  ascend  and  descend  upon  the  Son  of 
man."  ^ 

First,  He  is  the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David,  not 
the  root  out  of  which  David  springs,  as  if  He  would 
say  that  He  is  David's  Lord  as  well  as  David's  Son,^ 
but  the  "■  shoot  that  comes  out  of  the  stock  of  Jesse 
and  the  branch  out  of  his  roots  that  bears  fruit." ^  He 
is  the  ''  Son,  who  was  born  of  the  seed  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh,'"*  the  substance  of  ancient 
prophecy,  the  long-promised  and  looked-for  King. 
Secondly,  He  is  the  bright,  the  morning  star,  the  star 
which  shines  in  its  greatest  briUiancy  when  the  dark- 
ness is  about  to  disappear,  and  that  day  is  about  to 
break  of  which  "  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  with 
healing  in  His  wings,"  shall  be  the  everlasting  light,^ 
Himself  ''  our  Star,  our  Sun."  Thus  He  is  connected 
on  the  one  side  with  earth,  on  the  other  with  heaven, 
"Immanuel,  God  with  us," ^  touched  with  a  feeling 
of  our  infirmities,  mighty  to  save.  "What  then 
shall  we  say  to  these  things  ?     If  God  is  for  us,  who 


»  John 
»  Matt. 

i.51. 
xxii. 

45. 

'  Isa.  xi. 
<  Rom.  i 

I. 

•3. 

»  Mai.  iv 
•  Matt.  i. 

25 

.  2. 

23. 

3H6  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

is  against  us  ?  He  that  spared  not  His  own  Son, 
but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He  not 
also  with  Him  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  Who  shall 
say  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  It  is  God 
that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  shall  condemn  ?  It 
is  Christ  Jesus  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  was  raised 
from  the  dead,  who  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who 
also  maketh  intercession  for  us.  Who  shall  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  shall  tribulation,  or 
anguish,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or 
peril,  or  sword  ?     Even  as  it  is  written. 

For  Thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long  ; 

We  were  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter. 

Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  Him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded,  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  powers, 
nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall 
be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,"^ 

The  Saviour  had  declared,  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly," 
had  spoken  of  the  "reward"  which  He  would  bring 
with  Him,  and  had  used  various  images  to  set  forth 
the  happiness  and  joy  which  should  be  the  everlasting 
portion  of  those  for  whom  He  came.  These  declara- 
tions could  not  fail  to  awaken  in  the  breast  of  the 
Church  a  longing  for  His  coming,  and  this  longing 
now  finds  expression. 

The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say^  Come.  We  are  not  to 
think  of  4wo  separate  voices  :  the  voice  of  the  Spirit 
and  the  voice  of  the  bride.  It  is  a  characteristic  of 
St.  John's  style  that  where  there  is  combined  action, 

•  Rom.  viii.  31-39. 


xxii.  16-21.]  THE  EPILOGUE.  387 

action,  having  both  an  inward  and  invisible  and  an 
outward  and  visible  side,  he  often  separates  the  two 
agencies  by  which  it  is  produced.  Many  illustrations 
of  this  may  be  found  in  his  mention  of  the  actions  of 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  but  it  will  be  enough  to  refer 
to  one  more  strictly  parallel  to  that  met  with  here.  In 
chap.  XV.  of  the  fourth  Gospel  we  find  Jesus  saying  to 
His  disciples,  "  But  when  the  Advocate  is  come,  whom 
I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even  the  Spirit 
of  truth,  which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  He  shall 
bear  witness  of  Me ;  and  ye  also  bear  witness,  because 
ye  have  been  with  Me  from  the  beginning."  ^  In  these 
words  we  have  not  two  works  of  witnessing,  the  first 
that  of  the  Advocate,  the  second  that  of  the  disciples. 
We  have  only  one, — outwardly  that  of  the  disciples, 
inwardly  that  of  the  Advocate.  In  like  manner  now. 
The  Spirit  and  the  bride  do  not  utter  separate  calls. 
The  Spirit  calls  in  the  bride  ;  the  bride  calls  in  the 
Spirit.  The  cry  "Come"  is  therefore  that  of  the 
spiritually  enlightened  Church  as  she  answers  the 
voice  of  her  Lord  and  King.  Her  voice  is  the  echo 
of  His.  He  says,  ''  I  come  ; "  she  answers,  ^'  Come." 
St.  John  then  adds  the  next  clause  himself:  And 
let  him  that  heareth  say^  Come;  that  is,  let  him  that 
heareth  with  the  hearing  of  faith  ;  let  him  who  has 
made  his  own  the  glorious  prospects  opened  up  in  the 
visions  of  this  book  as  to  the  Lord's  Second  Coming 
add  his  individual  cry  to  the  cry  of  the  universal 
Church.  To  this  the  Saviour  replies.  And  he  that 
is  athirsty  let  him  come.  He  that  willy  let  him  take 
the  water  of  life  freely.  The  words  appear  to  be 
addressed,  not  to  the  world,  but  to  the  Church.     He 

'  John  XV.  26,  27. 


388  THE   BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

that  is  "  athirst  "  has  already  drunk  of  the  Hving  water, 
but  he  thirsts  for  deeper  draughts  from  that  river  the 
streams  whereof  make  glad  the  city  of  God.  To 
partake  more  and  more  largely  of  these  is  the  believer's 
longing;  and  fulness  of  blessing  is  within  his  reach. 
Let  him  never  say,  "  It  is  enough."  Let  him  drink 
and  drink  again ;  let  him  drink  "  freely,"  until  the  water 
that  Christ  shall  give  him  becomes  in  him  "  a  fountain 
of  springing  water  unto  eternal  hfe."  ^  The  statements 
and  replies  contained  in  these  words  are  those  of  the 
glorified  Lord,  of  the  Church  speaking  in  the  Spirit, 
and  of  the  individual  believer,  as  they  hold  converse 
with  one  another  in  that  moment  of  highest  rapture 
when  evil  has  been  extinguished,  when  the  struggle  is 
over,  when  the  victory  has  been  gained,  and  when  the 
Lord  of  the  Church  is  at  the  door.  He  in  them  and 
they  in  Him,  what  can  they  do  but  speak  to  and  answer- 
one  another  in  strains  expressive  of  mutual  longing 
and  affection  and  joy  ? 

Once  more  the  Seer — for  it  seems  to  be  he  that 
speaks — turns  to  the  book  which  he  has  written. 

In  the  Prologue  he  had  said,  "  Blessed  is  he  that 
readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  the  prophecy, 
and  keep  the  things  which  are  written  therein."^  In  the 
same  spirit  he  now  denounces  a  w^oe  upon  him  who 
adds  to  it :  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  which  are 
written  in  the  book;  nor  less  upon  him  who  takes  from 
it :  for  God  shall  take  away  his  part  from  the  tree  of  life, 
and  out  of  the  holy  city,  which  are  written  in  this  book. 
The  book  has  come  from  Him  who  is  the  faithful  and 
true  Witness  of  God,  and  it  has  been  written  in 
obedience  to   His   command    and  under  the  guidance 

*  John  iv.  14,  =  Chap.  i.  3. 


xxii.  I6-2I.]  THE  EPILOGUE.  389 

of  His  Spirit.  St.  John  himself  is  nothing;  Christ  is 
all :  and  St.  John  knows  that  the  words  of  his  great 
Master  are  fulfilled,  "  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth 
Me,  and  he  that  receiveth  Me  receiveth  Him  that  sent 
Me."  ^  Therefore  may  he  speak  with  all  authority,  for 
it  is  not  he  that  speaks,  but  the  Holy  Spirit.^ 

Yet  once  again,  before  the  parting  salutation,  Christ 
and  the  Church  interchange  their  thoughts.  The 
former  speaks  first  :  He  which  testifieth  these  things 
saith,  Yea,  I  come  quickly.  It  is  the  sum  and  substance 
of  His  message  to  His  suffering  people,  for  they  can 
desire  or  need  no  more.  The  "  I  "  is  the  Lord  Himself 
as  He  is  in  glory,  not  in  the  feebleness  of  the  flesh,  not 
amidst  the  sins  and  sorrows  of  the  world,  not  with  the 
cup  of  trembling  and  astonishment  in  His  hand,  but 
in  the  unlimited  fulness  of  His  Divine  power,  clothed 
with  the  light  of  His  heavenly  abode,  and  anointed 
with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  His  fellows.  Especially 
is  the  Church  told  that  this  revelation  is  all  she  needs, 
because  throughout  the  book  she  is  supposed  to  be  in  the 
midst  of  trials.  To  the  troubled  heart  the  Apocalypse 
is  given  ;  and  by  such  a  heart  is  it  best  understood. 

Jesus  has  spoken  ;  and  the  Church  replies,  Amen. 
Come,  Lord  Jesus,  Amen  to  all  that  the  Lord  has 
promised ;  Amen  to  the  thought  of  sin  and  sorrow 
banished,  of  wounded  hearts  healed,  of  tears  of  affliction 
wiped  away,  of  the  sting  taken  from  death  and  victory 
from  the  grave,  of  darkness  dissipated  for  ever,  of  the 
light  of  the  eternal  day.  Surely  it  cannot  come  too 
soon.  "  Why  is  His  chariot  so  long  in  coming  ?  Why 
tarry  the  wheels  of  His  chariots  ?  "  ^  ''  Yea,  I  come 
quickly.     Amen.     Come,  Lord  Jesus." 

Matt.  X.  40.  "^  Comp.  Mark  xiii.  II.  ^  Judges  v.  28. 


390  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 

The  salutation  of  the  writer  to  his  readers  alone 
remains.  It  ought  to  be  read  differently  from  its  form 
in  the  authorised  English  version,  not  *'  The  grace  of 
Dur  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all,"  but  The  grace 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  he  with  the  saints.  For  the  saints  the 
book  had  been  written  ;  to  them  it  had  been  spoken  : 
they  alone  can  keep  it.  Let  no  man  who  is  not  in 
Christ  imagine  that  the  Revelation  of  St.  John  is 
addressed  to  him.  Let  no  man  imagine  that,  if  he  has 
not  found  Christ  already,  he  will  find  Him  here.  The 
book  will  rather  perplex  and  puzzle,  more  probably 
offend,  him.  Only  in  that  union  with  Christ  which  brings 
with  it  the  hatred  of  sin  and  the  love  of  holiness, 
which  teaches  us  that  we  are  ''orphans"^  in  a  present 
world,  which  makes  us  wait  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  as  they  that  wait  for  the  morning, 
can  we  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  Apocalypse,  listen  to 
its  threatenings  without  thinking  them  too  severe,  or 
so  embrace  its  promises  that  they  shall  heighten  rather 
than  lower  the  tone  of  our  spiritual  life.  Here,  if 
anywhere,  faith  and  love  are  the  key  to  knowledge, 
not  knowledge  the  key  to  faith  and  love.  It  is  in  the 
very  spirit  of  the  book,  therefore,  not  in  a  spirit  hard, 
or  narrow,  or  unsympathetic,  that  it  closes  with  the 
words,  "  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  be  with  the 
saints." 


We  have  reached  the  end  of  this  singular,  but  at  the 
same  time  most  instructive,  book  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. That  the  principles  upon  which  it  has  been  in- 
terpreted should  be  generally  accepted  were  too  much 
to  hope  for.     Their  acceptance,  where  they  are  received, 

'  John  xiv.  iS,  R.V.  (margin). 


xxii.i6-2i.]  THE  EPILOGUE.  391 

must  depend  mainly  upon  the  consideration  that  while, 
as  scientific  principles,  they  are  thoroughly  capable  of 
defence,  they  give  unity  to  the  book  and  a  meaning 
worthy  of  that  Divine  Spirit  by  whose  influence  upon 
the  soul  of  the  Apostle  it  was  produced.  On  no  other 
principles  of  interpretation  does  it  seem  possible  to 
effect  this  ;  and  the  writer  of  these  pages  at  least  is 
compelled  to  think  that,  if  they  are  rejected,  there  is 
only  one  conclusion  possible,— that  the  Apocalypse, 
however  interesting  as  a  literary  memorial  of  the  early 
Christian  age,  must  be  regarded  as  a  merely  human 
production,  and  not  entitled  to  a  place  in  the  canon  of 
Scripture.  Such  a  place,  however,  must  in  the  present 
state  of  the  argument  be  vindicated  for  it ;  and  'as  an 
inspired  book  it  has  accordingl}''  been  treated  here. 
What  the  reader,  therefore,  has  to  consider  is  whether, 
though  some  difficulties  may  not  be  completely  over- 
come, he  can  accept  in  the  main  the  principles  upon 
which,  in  endeavouring  to  explain  the  book,  the  writer 
has  proceeded.  These  principles  the  reader,  whoever 
he  be,  undoubtedly  applies  to  innumerable  passages  of 
Scripture.  In  so  applying  them  to  the  prophets  of  the 
Old  Testament,  he  follows  the  example  of  our  Lord  and 
His  Apostles  ;  and  much  of  the  New  Testament  itself 
equally  demands  their  application.  There  is  nothing  new 
in  them.  All  commentators  in  part  apply  them.  They 
have  only  been  followed  out  now  with  more  consistency 
and  uniformity  than  usual.  Archdeacon  Farrar  has 
said  that  one  of  the  two  questions  in  New  Testament 
criticism  which  have  acquired  new  aspects  during  the 
last  few  years  is,  What  is  the  key  to  the  interpretation 
of  the  Apocalypse  ?  ^     The  question  is   certainly  one 

*  Expositor,  July,  1S88,  p.  58. 


392  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION, 

urgently  demanding  the  Church's  answer,  and  one 
which  will  without  doubt  be  answered  in  due  time, 
either  in  the  present  or  some  other  form.  May  the 
Spirit  of  God  guide  the  Church  and  her  students,  and 
that  speedily,  into  all  the  truth. 


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Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.  Duryea. 


Rev.  Dr.  H.  Crosby. 
Rev.  Dr.  Pres.McCosH. 
Rev.  Dr.  M.  R.  Vincent. 
Rev.  Dr.  Jno.  Peddie. 
Rev.  Dr.  C.  T.  Deems. 
Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 
Rev.  Dean  Stanley. 
Rev.  Dr.  A.  Raleigh. 
And  many  oihen 


OUTLINES  OF  SERMONS  ON  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT, 


G.  S.  Barrett,  B.A. 
Dean  E.  Bickersteth. 
Bishop  E.  H.  Browne. 
J.  Bald.  Brown,  B.A. 

T.P.  BOULTBEE,  LL.D. 

J.  P.  Chown. 
Dean  R.W.  Church. 
E.  R.  Couder,  D.D. 
T.  L.  Cuyler,  D.D. 
A.  B.  Davidson,  D.D. 
Robert  Rainy,  D.D. 
Alex'r  Raleigh,  D.D. 
C.  P.^  Rf.ichel,  D.D. 
Chas.  Stanford,  D.D. 
Dean  A.  P.  Stanley. 
W.  M.  Stratham.B.A. 


AUTHORS  OF  SERMONS. 

J.Oswald  Dykes,D.D. 
E.  Herber  Evans.     ' 
Canon  F.W.  Farrar. 
Donald  Eraser,  D.D. 
J.G.Greenhough.BA. 
W.  F.  Hook,  D.D. 
Bishop  W.Basil  Jones. 
John  Kerr,  D.D. 
Canon  Edward  King. 
Bp.  J.  B.  Lightfoot. 
Wm.  M.Taylor,  D.D. 
S.  A.  Tipple,  B.A. 
H.  J.  Vandyke,  D.D. 
Dean  C.  J.  Vaughan. 
James  Vaughan,  B.A. 


Canon  Liddon. 

J.A.Macfayden,D.D, 
Alex.  M  aclaren,  D.  D, 
Bishop  W.  C.  Magee. 
Theodore  Monod. 
Arthur  Mursell. 
Joseph  Parker,  D.D. 
Dean  E.  H.  Plumptre, 
John  Pulsford.  [D.D, 
W.  Morley  Punshon, 
M.  R.  Vincent,  D.D. 
W.  J.  Woods,  B.A. 
C.  Wadsworth,  D.D, 
G.  H.  Wilkinson. 
Bp.  C.  Wordsworth. 


Copies  sent  by  mail,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  pi 


THE  CLERICAL  LIBRARY-(Continued;a 


OUTLINES  OF  SERMONS  TO  CHILDREN. 

With  numerous  Anecdotes.      Crown  8vo.      Cloth,  $1.50.      (Being  the 
3d  vol.  of  the  Clerical  Library.) 

"  These  sermons  are  by  men  of  acknowledged  eminence  in  possessing  the  happy 
faculty  of  preaching  interestitigly  to  the  young.  As  an  evidence  of  this,  as  'well  as 
of  the  character  of  the  teaching,  it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  such  names  as 
those  of  William  Aknot,  the  Bonaks,  Principal  Caikns,  John  Edmond,  D.D.,  . 
Drs.  Oswald  Dykes  and}.  Marshall  IjA-tiGy  besides  many  others."— Cajtada  Pres- 
byterian. 

"This  book  contains  a  very  high  grade  of  thinking,  with  enough  illustrations  and 
anecdotes  to  stock  the  average  preacher  for  many  years  of  children's  sermons." — Jipis- 
ctpal  Register. 

"They  are  full  of  suggestions  which  will  be  found  exceedingly  helpful ;  the  habit  of 
using  apt  and  simple  illustrations,  and  of  repeating  good  anecdotes,  begets  a  faculty 
and  power  which  are  of  value.  This  volume  is  a  treasure  which  a  hundred  pastors  will 
find  exceedingly  convenient  to  draw  upon," — N.  V.  Evangelist. 

PULPIT  PRAYERS  BY  EMINENT  PREACHERS. 

Crown  8vo.  Cloth,  $1.50.  (Being  the  4th  vol.  of  the  Clerical  Library.) 

The  British  Quarterly  says:  "  These  prayers  are  fresh  and  strong;  the  or- 
dinary  rzits  of  convetitional  forms  are  left  and  the  fresh  thoughts  of  living  hearts 
are  uttered.  The  excitement  of  de-national  thought  and  sympathy  must  be  great  in 
the  offeriyig  of  such  prayers,  especially  when,  as  here,  spiritual  intensity  and  de- 
voutness  are  as  marked  as  freshness  and  strength.  Such  prayers  have  their  char" 
acteristic  aaoatitages." 

London  Literary  World :  "Used  aright,  this  volume  is  likely  to  be  of  great  ser- 
vice to  ministers.  It  will  show  ihem  how  to  put  variety,  freshness  and  literary  beauty, 
as  well  as  spirituality  of  tone,  into  their  extemporaneous  prayers." 


Anecdotes  Illastrative  of  New  Testament  Texts. 

With  600  Anecdotes.      Crown  8vo,  400  pages.     Cloth,  $1.50.     (Being 
the  5th  vol.  of  the  Clerical  Library.)  f 

London  Christian  Leader  says  :  "  This  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  books  of 
anecdote  that  we  have  ever  seen.  There  is  hardly  ofie  anecdote  that  is  not  of  first- 
rate  quality.  They  have  been  selected  by  one  who  has  breadth  and  vigor  of  mind 
as  well  as  keen  spiritual  insight,  and  some  of  the  most  effective  illustratiofis  of 
Scripture  texts  ha/ve  a  rich  vein  of  humor  of  exquisite  quality." 

The  London  Church  Bells:  "TTie  anecdotes  are  given  in  the  order  of  the  texts 
which  they  illustrate.  There  is  an  ample  index.  The  book  is  one  which  those  who 
have  to  prepare  sermons  and  addresses  will  do  well  to  have  at  their  elbow." 

N.  V.  Christian  at  Work:    "As  an  apt  illustration  often  proves  the  nail 

WHICH    FASTENS   THE   TRUTH    IN    THE    MINU,  THIS    VOLUME    WILL   PROVE   AN    AD.MIRABLE 
AND    VALUABLE   AID,   NOT    ONLY     TO     CI  ERGYMEN,     BUT     TO    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    TEACHERS 

AND  Christian  workers  generally." 

N.  V.  Observer  :  "A  book  replete  with  incident  and  suggestion  applicable  to  every 
occasion." 


CoHcs  sent  by  mail,  posi/^aid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


THE   CLERICAL   LlBRARY-(Continued). 

EXPOSITORY  SERMONS  AND  OUTLINES  ON 
THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

Crown  8vo,  cloth.     $1.50.     Being  the  6th  vol.  of  the  Clerical  Library. 


W.  Alexander,  D.D., 
Bishop  of  Derry. 

A.  Barky,  D.D.,  Primate 
OF  Australia. 

Dean  Bradley,  of  West- 
minster. 

Stopford  a.  Brooke. 


Containing  Sermons  by 

Prof.    A.     B.    Davidson, 

D.D.,  LL.D. 
Ven.  Archdeacon  Farrar. 
Canon  W.J.  Knox-Littlr. 
Canon  H.P.  Liddon,  D.D. 
Alexander       Maclaren, 

D.D. 


George  Matheson,  D.D. 
Joseph  Parker,  D.D. 
Dean  J.  J.  S.  Perowne. 
C.  Stanford,  D.D. 
Lord  Bishop  of  Chester. 
Dean  Vaughan. 


''Rich  in  practical  application,  these  Sermons  ivill  be  an  education  and  an  inspi- 
ration to  many" — N.  Y.  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal. 


PLATFORM  AND  PULPIT  AIDS. 

Consisting  of  Striking  Speeches,  Home  Work,  Foreign  Missions, 
THE  Bible,  Sunday  School,  Temperance,  and  Kindred  Sub- 
jects, WITH  Illustrative  Anecdotes  from  Addresses.    Crown 
8vo,  cloth.     I1.50.     Being  the  7th  vol.  of  the  Clerical  Library, 
By 


Prebendary  Ainslie. 
W.  Arthur. 
Bishop  of  Bedford. 
Dean  of  Canterbury. 
Bishop  of  Carlisle. 
Bishop  Boyd  Carpenter. 
Dean  of  Chester. 
Dean  Close. 
R.  W.  Dale,  D.D. 


J.  C.  Edghill,  D.D. 
Dean  of  Bangor. 
Bishop  Ellicott,  D.D. 
Archdeacon  Farrar. 
Canon  Fleming. 
Newman  Hall. 
Dr.  Livingstone. 
Bishop  of  London. 
J,  A.  Macfadyen,  D.D. 


R  Moffat,  D.D. 

Sir  W.  Muir,  K. C.S.I. 

J.  Parker,  D.D. 

W.  M.   PUNSHON,  D.D, 

Principal  Rainy,  D.D. 
C.  H.  Spurgeon. 
A.  Moody  Stuart,  D.D. 
Archbishop  Tait. 
Canon  Tristram. 
And  others. 


"ytisi  the  look  to  give  to  some  overworked  pastor  who  has  many  speeches  to  make, 
with  little  time  for  study,  and  less  money  to  spare/or  new  books.  We  have  here  a 
collection  of  some  of  the  best  speeches  of  many  of  the  great  platform  speakers  of  our 
iime."— Christian. 

ANECDOTES  ILLUSTRATIVE  OF  OLD  TESTA- 
MENT TEXTS.     , 

With  over  500  Illustrations  and  Index  of  Texts.     Crown   8vo,  cloth. 
$1.50.     Being  the  8th  vol.  of  the  Clerical  Library. 

**  It  will  be  found  invaluable  to  all  preachers,  teachers,  and  public  speakers,  as 
placing  at  their  command  a  vast  storehouse  of  incidents  %vith  which  to  enforce  and 
fasten  an  idea  or  point  a  rnoral.'''' — N.  Y.  Christian  at  Work. 


Copies  sent  by  mail,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


DR.  BROADUS'S  WORK  ON  PREACHING. 


ON  THE  PRLPARATION  AND  DELIVERY  OF  SERMONS. 


Crown    8vo.       514    pages. 


By    John    A.  Broadus,    D.D.,    LL.D. 
Cloth,  $1.75.      1 1  th  Edition. 

J^="  No  other  work  on  the  same  subject,  published  in  this  country^  has  sold  so 
largely  in  so  short  a  titne,  while  the  religious  and  secular  press,  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  has  almost  tcniver sally  comtnended  it  in  strong  and  earnest  notices. 

Its  immediate  republication  in  London,  with  an  Introduction  by  Rev.  Joseph 
Angus,  D.D.,  was  follo^ved  by  the  indorsement  of  Bishop  Eilicott,  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon, 
and  the  religious  periodicals,  demonstrating  that  it  met  with  cqualfavor  abroad. 

The  work  not  only  7neets  the  wants  of  students  and  young  ministers,  but  is  very 
suggestive  and  stimulating  to  those  of  maiurer  age.  It  is  warmly  commended  to 
Sunday-school  teachers,  lay  preachers  and,  public  speakers  in  general.  It  takes 
unusual  pains  to  give  suggestions  for  the  preparation  and  conduct  of  what  is  called 
extemporaneous  discourse,  while  doing  full  justice  to  all  the  methods. 


NOTICES   OF  THE  WORK. 


"  Prepared  by  a  very  able  teacher.  He 
has  had  a  practical  knowledge  of  his  sub- 
ject, is  intimately  acquainted  with  the  lit- 
erature of  all  parts  of  it,  and  has  treated 
the  whole  with  devoutness,  thoroughness, 
blended  scholarship,  and  good  sense." — 
Dr.  Angus,  in  Preface  to  London  edition. 

"The  preacher  who  desires  to  have  an 
intelligent  appreciation  of  the  demands  of 
his  work,  and  of  the  way  in  which  he  may 
attain  excellency  in  it,  cannot  do  better 
than  study  this  thoughtful  and  suggestive 
treatise." — English  Indepe7ident . 

•"A  book  on  preaching,  by  a  master  of 
the  art.  Everywhere  in  his  book  there  is 
that  intensity  of  earnestness  which  is  at 
once  the  charm  and  characteristic  of  his 
preaching." — Religious  Herald. 

"A  judicious  and  exhaustive  treatise — 
destined,  we  think,  to  occupy  a  very  promi- 
nent, if  not  the  highest  place  among 
books  on  Homiletics." — Methodist  Home 
Journal. 

"Abounds  in  excellent  hints,  rules,  and 
suggestions.  It  is  very  lucid  in  style — 
must  do  good  on  a  large  scdAe.'" —Southern 
Presbyterian. 

"  It  bears  the  marks  of  close  study,  of 
careful  deliberation,  is  always  suggestive, 
breathes  a  good  pure  spirit,  and  has  a  style 
that  is  alw.iys  clear  and  attractive." — 
Lutheran  and  Missionary. 


"A  rich  mine  of  the  best  thoughts  on  the 
grandest  subject."  —  Raleigh  Episcopal 
Methodist. 

"  Elaborate  in  plan  and  execution,  syste- 
matically arranged — we  commend  the  vol- 
ume as  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind." — T7ie 
Advance. 

"The  most  complete  and  comprehensive 
work  of  the  kind  published  in  this  country." 
—  Christian  Intelligencer. 

"A  good  book  ;  full  of  instruction,  rich, 
varied,  andexhaastive."-PrincetonRevieTv. 

"I  know  of  no  one  book  from  which  a 
clergyman  can  learn  so  much  of  the  art  of 
preaching." — IV.  Sparrozu,  D.D.,  Prof,  in 
Prot.  Epis.  Theol.  Seminary  of  Va. 

"  Even  for  the  general  reader  it  has  un- 
usual attractions.  It  is  exceedingly  read- 
able and  charmingly  written."-  The  World. 

"  Sabbath-school  superintendents  and 
teachers  will  be  guided,  helped,  and 
strengthened  by  it." — 5.  School  Times. 

"It  abounds  in  suggestions  which  may 
be  turned  to  profitable  account,  not  only  by 
preachers,  but  by  lawyers,  and  all  others 
who  are  called  upon  to  address  public  au- 
diences."— American  Lit.  Gazette. 

"  We  have  read  the  book  with  absorbing 
interest.  Rich,  deep  thoughts  and  emi- 
nently practical  suggestions  abound 
through  th ese pages."— .<4i,yc?«Wf/v^(>r;«fi 
Presbyterian. 


Copies  sent  by  mail  on  receipt  of  price. 


REV.  DR.  HENRY  B.  SMITH'S  WORKS. 

SYSTEMoF CHRISTIAN  THEOLOGY 

By  Henry  B.  Smith,  D.D.,  LL.D.  Edited  by  Wm.  S.  Karr,  D.D. 
Octavo  vol.     650  pages.     Cloth.     (3d  Edition.)     I3.50. 

"The  importance  of  this  publication  can  hardly  be 
over-estimated.  Dr.  Smith,  while  living,  exerted  an 
influence  on  Christian  thought  second  to  that  of  no 
one  in  this  country.  And  to-day  his  opinions  and  ut- 
terances on  points  of  Christian  doctrine  are  quoted  as 
of  the  highest  authority." 

"We  hazard  little  in  saying  that  Prof.  Smith's  'System  of  Christian  Theology'  will 
take  its  place  at  once  in  the  very  foremost  rank  of  the  great  American  treatises  on 
dogmatics.  It  is  in  a  peculiar  sense  representative  in  its  combination  of  keen  analytical, 
philosophic  power  and  vivid  perception  of  the  imperative  wants  of  the  human  heart. 
.  .  .  The  book,  as  a  whole,  is  a  monument  of  profound  Christian  thought.  No  one 
could  have  composed  it  who  was  not  impressed,  as  Prof.  Smith  was,  with  the  supreme 
dignity  and  value  of  the  science  to  which  the  best  years  of  his  life  were  devoted,  and  at 
the  same  time  with  the  infinite  possibilities  of  that  sphere  of  divine  knowledge  into 
which  this  science  aims  to  penetrate." — N.  Y.  Evangelist. 

The  Herald  a7td  Presbyter  says  :  "There  is  no  part  of  this  work  that  is  not  a  valu- 
able addition  to  the  theological  literature  of  the  subject  which  it  treats.  The  whole 
volume  is  a  pi-oduct  of  theological  ability  of  the  very  first  order,  and  of  wide  and  thor- 
ough scholarship.  .  .  .  Its  style  is  clear  and  sparkling.  In  those  portions  of  the 
work  in  which  the  theme  is  elaborated,  it  rises  to  heights  of  real  eloquence.  .  .  . 
We  have  been  given  an  elaborate  theological  treatise,  which  must  take  a  place  abreast 
of  the  ablest  treatises  in  divinity  to  be  found  in  our  language." 

INTRODUCTION  TO  CHRISTIAN  THEOLOGY— LECTURES  ON 
APOLOGETICS.  By  Henry  B.  Smith,  D.D.  Edited  by  Wm. 
S.  Karr,  D.D.      2  vols,  in  one.     Price  reduced  to  $1.50. 

"  As  these  two  M^orks  properly  belong  together,  it  has  been  thought 
advisable  to  publish  them  as  one  volume,  giving  the  author's  complete 
survey  of  the  field,  as  well  as  his  earlier  and  later  treatment  of  some  of 
the  subjects." 

"  No  teacher  in  this  country,  and  few  anywhere,  had  a  more  thorough  acquaintance 
with  this  large  and  abstruse  subject,  and  with  its  enorm.ous  literature.  His  severe  and 
carefully  trained  logical  faculty,  his  cool  and  dispassionate  judgment,  his  extensive 
learning,  and  his  nervous  and  transparent  style,  lend  to  this,  as  to  all  his  other  produc- 
tions, a  profound  interest  and  a  peculiar  charm.  It  will  be  an  invaluable  manual,  not 
tmly  to  the  professio7ial  student,  but  to  e-very  thoughtful  reader  tvho  seeks  to  justify  the 
ways  of  God  to  7nan." — N.  V.  Tribune. 

HENRY  BOYNTON  SMITH— His  Life  and  Work.  Edited  by  his 
Wife.  With  a  fine  Portrait  on  steel  by  Ritchie.  Octavo  vol., 
cloth.     $2.50. 

This  Memoir  of  the  lamented  Prof.  Smith  gives  a  faithful  picture  of 
his  character  and  public  career.  The  story  is  deeply  interesting,  and 
while  it  fully  justifies  his  reputation  as  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
scholars  and  theologians,  it  also  shows  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  very 
rare  personal  attracticri-;. 

N.  Y.  Obser7>er :  "  Dr.  Smith's  life  was  full  of  incident  and  adventure.  His  education 
wa?.  splendid.  Foreign  travel  in  youth  broadened  his  view,  enlarged  his  acouaintance 
with  universities,  with  men,  books,  and  life.  The  brightest  intellects  discerned  his  great- 
ness. As  a  pistor,  preacher,  teacher,  lecturer  and  professor,  as  a  reviewer  and  editor, 
.he  always  made  the  m.irk  of  a  first-rate  workman,  doing  everything  well.  The  loving 
hand  of  the  wife  has  fitly  held  out  to  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  bound  up  in  this  bundle 
such  evidence  of  his  greatness  and  worth,  that  the  present  generation  and  posterity  wijj 
know  something  of  what  the  Church  lost  when  this  light  went  out  before  eventide." 

Copies  sent  on  receipt  of  pHce,  post  paid. 

A.  Co  ARMSTRONG  &  SON,  714  Broadway,  New  York. 

13 


PREACHING  AND  PASTORAL  WORK. 


I  Vol.,  Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  5^0  Pages.     Price    %I.'JS- 

Hoiniletlcal  and  Pastoral  lectures. 

Delivered  in  St.  PauVs  Cathedral  before  the  Church  Hoitiiletical  Society, 
With  a  Preface  by  the  Rt.  Rev.   C.  J.  ELLICOTT,   D.D., 

Editor  of  K'ew  Testament  Conunentary  for  English  Readers. 

Contents. 
The  Preparation  of  a  Sermon. 

By  the  LORD  BISHOP  01  ROCHESTER. 
The  End  or  Object  of  a  Sermon. 

By  the  Right  Rev.  BISHOP  RYAN,  D.i: 
Homely  Hints  on  Preaching. 

By  the  Very  Rev.  DEAN  HOWSON,  D.D_ 
On  the  Emotions  in  Preaching. 

By  the  LORD  ARCHBISHOP  of  YORK, 
What  Constitutes  a  Plain  Sermon. 

By  the  LORD  BISHOP  of  CARLISLE. 
The  Preparation  of  Sermons  for  Village  Congregations. 

By  the  Rev.  CANON  HEURTLEY,  D.D. 
The  Preacher's  Gifts. 

By  the  Rev.  E.  GARBETT,  M.A. 
Study  in  its  Bearing  on  Preaching. 

By  the  Rev.  CANNON  BARRY,  D.D.,  D.C.L. 
The  Study  of  Holy  Scripture  with  a  view  to  the  Preparation  of 

Sermons.  By  the  Very  Rev.  DEAN  PEROWNE,  D.D. 
Texts:  their  Interpretation,  Misinterpretation  and  Misapplica- 
tion. By  the  Ven.  ARCHDEACON  PEROWNE,  B.D. 
Prophecy  in  its  Relation  to  Preaching. 

By  the  Very.  Rev.  DEAN  FREMANTLE,  D.D. 
Parish  Work  in  its  Relation  to  the  Cure  of  Souls. 

By  the  Rev.  CANON  BERNARD,  M.A. 
Pastoral  Visitation. 

By  the  Rev.  PREBENDARY  CADMAN,  M.A. 
Pastoral  Dealings  with  Individuals. 

By  the  Rev.  CANON  HOW,  M.A. 
Cottage  Lectures. 

By  the  BISHOP  of  OSSOKY. 
Hdw  to  Reach  Working  Men. 

By  the  Rev.  PREBENDARY  MACDONALD,  M.A, 
Parochial  Temperance  Work  as  Part  of  the  Cure  of  Souls. 

By  the  Rev.  CANON  ELLISON,  M.A. 
The  Temptations  of  the  Ministry. 

By  the  LORD  BISHOP  of  RANGOON. 
The  Responsibilities  of  the  Ministry. 

By  the  Rev.  F.  PIGOU,  D.D, 
The  Results  of  the  Ministry. 

By  the  Rev.  CANON  HOARE,  M.A. 


Copies  sent  by  viail,  postpaid,   on  receipt  of  price. 


STANDARD  RELIGIOUS  WORKS. 

Sacred  History  froii  tie  Creation  to  tlie  Giviiis  of  tlie  Law. 

By  Rev.  E.  P.  Humphrey,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  ofLouisville,  Ky.,  and  sometime 
Professor  of  Biblical  and  Church  History  in  Danville  Theological  Sem- 
inary.    Large  octavo,  530  pages,  cloth,  $2  50. 

"This  treatise  bears  witness  to  the  author's  thorough  acquaintance  with 
his  theme,  resulting  from  a  careful  study  of  every  verse  and  line  of  the  Bible 
bearing  upon  it,  and  from  a  comprehensive  reading  of  the  literature  on  all 
sides  of  the  subject.  It  cannot  fail  to  delight  as  well  the  theologian  and 
scholar  as  the  ordinary  reader.  Its  style,  though  of  course  didactic,  is 
neither  cumbersome  nor  magisterial,  but  pleasing,  elegant,  and  persuasive. 
The  order  followed  in  the  arrangement  of  the  matter  is  perfect  ;  the  double 
index  of  topics  and  texts  referred  to  or  interpreted  is  thorough  and  com- 
plete. The  book  itself  is  a  very  armory  of  zveapons,  oil  of  the  most  modern 
date.  Every  line  of  the  book  teejns  with  interest  and  instruction.'''' — A'ew 
York  Churchfnan. 

"  A  solid  body  of  old-fashioned  learning  and  orthodox  divinity,  that  will 
delight  thousands  of  readers  who  like  the  old  ring  of  the  ^  ripe  scholar.^ 
Two  good  indexes  of  topics  and  texts  equip  the  zvork  for  further  usefulness. 
Apart  from  its  claim  to  be  history  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  luord,  the  work 
is  one  of  the  best  we  are  familiar  w'Uhfor  those  zoho  zvish  to  keep  substan- 
tially unaltered  the  tra'iitiojt  Uview  ofhu7nan  history  from  Adam  to  Moses. 
One  cannot  read  Dr.  Hiwiphrey''  s  book  without  edification  and  enjoyment 
of  his  lucid  style.  ^'' — New  York  Critic. 

"  A  careful  perusal  of  this  book  will  bring  welcome  assistance  to  preach- 
ers of  the  Word  who  wish  to  broaden  and  deepen  their  comprehension  of 
Divine  truth  ;  it  will  bring  fresh  suggestions  to  careful  and  devout  students 
of  the  Bible,  and  it  will  clear  away  tlie  mists  from  the  vision  of  many  seri- 
ous and  candid  doubters." — Christian  Standard. 

^''  Here  are  results  of  study,  of  profound  thought,  of  ripe  scholarship,  of 
unswerving  loyalty  to  the  Word,  such  as  are  not  excelled  in  any  other  work 
we  know.  His  book,  we  are  sure,  will  satisfy  every  one  who  truly  hungers 
for  sacred  knowledge.  It  is  eminently  a  book  for  the  time,  and  such  a  ruork 
by  such  a  hand  is  worthy  to  stand  on  every  study-table  by  the  Bible  and 
concordance.^^ — Cincinnati  Herald  and  Presbyter. 

THE    SYSTElill    OF   THEOLOGY 

Contained  in  the  Westminster  Shorter  Catechism.  Opened  and  Explained 
by  Rev.  Drs.  A.  A.  and  J.  Aspinvvall  Hodge.  i2mo,  $1.00, 
^^  Many  will  be  glad  to  have  in  a  book  of  less  than  tzvo  hundred  pages  a 
clear  exposition  of  the  doctrines  taught  by  this  Church;  it  is  intenJed  as  a 
'.ext-book  in  the  home,  in  the  Sabbath-schools,  and  in  our  seminaries.''^ — N.Y. 
Observer. 

"This  volume  may  be  read  with  profit  by  Christians  of  any  school  of  the- 
ology." — Methodist  Record. 

"There  is  enough  theology  in  this  compact  little  book  to  satisfy  the  most 
exacting  reader." — Philadelphia  Press. 

THE  DAWN  OF  THE  MODERN  MISSION. 

By  Rev.  Wm.  Fleming  Stevenson,  D.  D.,   author  of  "  Praying  and  Waiting."    i2mo 
vol.,  cloth,  90  cts. 

Copies  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 

A.  C.  ARMSTRONG  &  SON,  714  Broadway,  New  York. 


IV^PORTANT  RELIGIOUS  WORKS. 

MR.  SPURGEON'S  NEW  BOOK: 

The  Cheque-Bookof  the  Bank  of  Faith. 

BEING    PRECIOUS    PROMISES    ARRANGED  FOR  DAILY  USE. 
With  Brief  Experimental  Comments.  Nearly  4C0  pages,  i2mo,  $1  50, 

"  lVhe?t  it  is  state  J  that  this  xo  ell-name  i  I- 00k  contains  a  Scripture  Prom- 
isj  for  each  day  in  the  year,  coviniented  on,  in  his  best  vjin,  by  the  prince 
of  practical  an.l  exp,  rimental  preachers,  e  rough  has  been  said  to  co?Hm.nd  it 
cs  first  tn  its  class." — N.  Y.  Christian  Intelligencer. 

•'  It  is  done  in  ths  great  preacher's  inimitable  style,  and  speaks  home 
ON  kv<:ry  page  to  the  heart  and  need  of  the  believer." — N.  Y.  Independ^t. 

^^  Mr     Spurgeon's  words  are  so  plant,  his  style  so  sparklin^^,  and  his  . 
spirit  so  dci'oid,  that  the  reading  of  his  productions  is  almost  sure  to  excite 
a   mental  glow   and  awaken   holy  aspirations.       This   book  is  brimful  of 
quickening,  soothing,  soul-lifting power.'^—N.  Y.  Witness. 

"  As  there  are  three  hundred  and  sixty- five  cheques  in  this  book,  the  man 
who  makes  right  use  of  them  is  rich  indeed." — N.   Y.  Observer. 

Palestine  in  the  Time  of  Christ. 

By  Edmund  Stapfer,  D.  D.,  of  the  Protestant  Faculty,  Paris.  With  map, 

and   plans     Uniform    with    Stanley's   ''Sinai   and   Palestine.''^    Crown 

8vo,  cloth.  $2.50. 

"  '/'here  is  so  much  here  of  accurate  learning,  a7id  of  matter  extre?nely 
valuable  in  respect  to  the  persojial  and  every  day  life  of  the  people,  that  '■it 
fills  a  place  not  filled''  by  any  other  volume  luithin  our  knowledge.  It  is  an 
txce.lent  book  for  reference  for  all  ivho  would  like  to  interpret  biblical 
passages  for  homiletic  purposes  ivith  minute  end  accurate  statement." — 
N.  Y.  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal. 

•'  Dr.  Staffer  may  be  congratulated  on  the  successful  way  in  which  he 
has  accomplished  his  task.  He  has  studied  the  diversified  topics  he  treats 
of,  and  has  generally  drawn  his  material  from  the  best  authorities,  arrang- 
ing it  in  lucid  order  Few  guides  will  be  found  more  useful  in  surveying 
the  varied  details  into  which  a  comprehensive  subject  leads  him.  There  is 
no  English  book  that  can  be  put  beside  it  as  occupying  thesaaie  ground." — 
Lojidon  Athena:um. 

"De  Pressense's  Brilliant  Book." 

THE  ANCIENT  WORLD  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  By  E.  de  Prf.ssense, 

D.  D.,  author  of  a  "  Study  of  Origins, "  etc.    Cr.  8vo,  500  pages,  $1.75. 

"  It  is  an  admirable  hand-book  of  comparative  religion.  It  is  a  sub- 
stantial, learned,  and  uistructive  treatment  of  a  most  important  subject. " — 
Pritish  Weekly. 

"■  A  brilliant  book.  .  .  .  Xo  one  who  opens  the  book  is  likely  to  fail 
to  admire  the  ingenuity  of  the  treatijient  of  the  beliefs  of  the  primitive 
?;/««."— London  Literary  World. 

"Brilliant  in  style,  lucid  in  exposition,  comprehensive  in  philosophic 
grasp,  it  presents  a  fair  specimen  of  what  modern  scholarship  and  scientific 
thought  can  accomplish,  together  with  a  firm  belief  in  the  fundamental 
pro]:)Osiiions  of  Christianity."— ^^j/t7;z  Advertiser. 

•'This  bcjok  is  a  great  treasury  of  gathered  learning,  presented  in  a  pop. 
ular  form."— A';  Y.  Observer. 

Copies  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 
A.  C.  AhMSTRONG  &  SON,  714  Broadway,  New  York. 


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